


Counterfeit Criminals

by lailannajacobs



Series: Thieving Hearts [2]
Category: Loki - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:35:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 27,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24085216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lailannajacobs/pseuds/lailannajacobs
Summary: Almost a year after escaping Asgard and your role as human ambassador, you find yourself once again face to face with the God of Mischief. With everything left unfinished between the two of you, it’s a wonder you don’t kill each other within the first few seconds.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Thieving Hearts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735753
Comments: 58
Kudos: 168





	1. A Criminal Act and an Unforgotten Criminal

Sweat dripped into your eyes, your legs shaky beneath your weight. There were only ten seconds left before their magical alarm system deactivated and you were starting to wonder if you could hold your excruciating position for that much longer. It had been a long day.

When you were certain the ten seconds were up, you waited an extra three before dropping to the floor, a small echo bouncing down the hall as your combat boots hit the smooth tile.

Head swivelling, you made sure no one had heard you or had wandered down the hall unexpectedly, and jogged down the hall, hunched over to make yourself as small as possible. You needed to do this fast. The guards would be back around soon, and you didn’t plan on getting caught here on Praxius IX. The rumours you’d heard about what they did to their prisoners had almost made you reconsider this whole heist, but the score was too irresistible.

Getting the wand would be easy. Getting you and it out would be a challenge.

You entered into another one of the pyramid tombs, small floating flames lighting the dark, but otherwise pristine, mosaic of tiles. The wand sat on a pedestal in the centre, as if begging to be taken by you. Artefacts and relics were an interesting paradox. People needed to keep them hidden but couldn’t help but put them on display. This meant that they were often easier to steal than if they hadn’t been hidden in the first place. Secluded and well presented. You couldn’t ask for better unless they handed it over, gift wrapped.

A few quick strides brought you directly in front of it and you paused, knowing the alarm would be triggered the moment your extraction pinchers entered the invisible protective barrier. You sighed. Getting out was going to be a pain in the ass. But you already knew that. You were ready for it. Even if you had a weird feeling in your gut and even if that ship you’d crossed on your way here had seemed weirdly suspicious, you’d planned for this. You could do this even if you didn’t have the magic or illusions that would have made everything so much easier. You cursed, hating the fact that even a year later, you couldn’t keep him from your mind.

You sucked in a breath. Act smart, run fast and stick to the plan. You found comfort in the sound of your racing heart, the adrenaline powering you; a high you couldn’t find anywhere else. The feeling made your job worth it. That, and the money of course.

You grabbed the object. For a second, nothing happened, and then a deafening shriek pierced the air. Time to go. Your legs started pumping, carrying you down the hall, though slower than you needed. You forced them to work faster, knowing the doors at the end of the hallway would lock you in if you didn’t reach the second tomb fast enough. You turned the corner and stumbled, expecting a set of guards but the coast was clear. Your heart dropped to the pit of your stomach, relief the last thing on your mind. There was no way this was a good sign. There was supposed to be a rotation of six on duty. So, where the hell were they?

Without a choice but to make it out, you kept running. Stopping to ask why there was no one preventing your escape seemed a little counter intuitive, no matter how suspicious the circumstances were.

The gust of cool wind on your face when you burst out of the tomb did nothing to calm your nerves. Getting out had been too easy. True, you weren’t out yet, but still, this should have been the hardest part. It always was. And now it wasn’t…what the hell were you walking into? All you had left was to sneak through the forest to your ship and leave planet, so you had a feeling you’d find out soon.

You pushed on, thinking that maybe you were being paranoid. Your focus had to be on weaving through the forest with efficiency and not looking for ways to make your life harder.

When your ship came into view, nestled in between thick copses of trees you let out a sigh of relief. Maybe your research was wrong. It never was, but there had to be a first for everything. Right? You shook your head. Who were you trying to convince? Get to your ship and get out. That simple. Anyways, now that you thought about it, rumours were a cheaper deterrent than hiring guards. The only problem with that logic was that you’d seen the guards on your way in. So, where had they gone?

The back trap to your ship whirred open, the hydraulics screaming to be replaced. After this job, you’d be able to afford the repairs, maybe even a new ship. With one last glance around the empty forest, you decided to chalk it up to luck.

You dumped your bag on the floor, carefully placing the wand beside it before striding over to the switch on the side to close up the trap. With a final click, you were enveloped in silence and you leaned against the wall, the knot in your stomach loosening a little.

“For someone who may have had the easiest heist in the history of the realms, “A smooth voice crooned, “You look awfully out of breath.”


	2. A Surprise Visit & A Familiar Deal

You froze. It wasn’t possible. You had to be imagining his voice. He couldn’t be here. But you knew he was. Nothing was impossible with the Prince. You had learned that the hard way. The shame was on you for having forgotten it.

What did you do now?

There were a million different things you wanted to shout, say or do to him, but you refused to react. There was no way you’d let him know how much you’d hurt after he’d gotten you chased out of Asgard. He obviously hadn’t cared enough about you to have wanted you to stay on Asgard with him, and you were a fool for having thought he’d have felt any different. He was the God of Mischief, Prince of Asgard. You were just some human in a long list of people he’d fooled and used for his own means. You should have remembered that. Despite making a fool of yourself then, you were going to control your temper for once in your life. Sucking in a long breath, you held it at the top and let it back out slowly until you knew you weren’t going to fling a dagger at him.

You turned and crossed your arms over your chest, leaning back against the wall. The sight of him took your breath away and you almost cursed him out right there and then before remembering plan. His hair looked freshly washed, tucked behind both ears, curling slightly at the bottom. As always, he was clean shaven, revealing the sharp lines of of jaw and cheekbones, only softened by the slight upward tilt of his lips. His head was tipped back, chin up in that cocky way of his that had always made you wonder whether he knew something you didn’t. It was a look that never failed to make you want to stab him and today was no exception.

If the effects of escaping Asgard had been apparent on you in the bags under your eyes and the general fatigue, the effects on the Prince were a general glow and confidence that radiated from him. All of it almost made you reach for the dagger.

Instead, you kept a bored look plastered on your face, “How’s life on the throne, wolf?”

He shrugged, “I wouldn’t know. Didn’t you hear? Thor came back from his mission early, and he and Odin took care of the Midgardian their together. Such heroes.”

“I tend to make a point of avoiding any kind of contact with a realm that kept me prisoner for almost a year and then used me as bait for personal gain when I would have been free a few month later,” You growled, unable to stop yourself, “But you know, that really must have sucked for you.”

His eyes never left yours, though for the first time, maybe ever, he seemed to be at a loss for words, lips pressed tight. For a moment, you wondered if an illusion stood in front of you, but you dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come. You’d seen him too often in your dreams to know the difference between an illusion and the real thing.

Shaking your head, you pushed off the wall with the intention of shoving past hi, “Not that I don’t want to stay and chat, Prince, but I really don’t want to stay and chat. Get off my ship before I get caught and thrown in a dungeon again. Maybe you can manage it this time.”

“I believe a thank you would be in order first,” His voice sounded suspiciously like a threat as he stepped in front of you at the last second, blocking your path so that you stumbled to a stop mere inches from him.

The stale smell from the tombs that clung to your clothes was replaced by the pleasant smell of lemon and pine, and for a second you couldn’t breathe. You were back on Asgard with his body pressed against yours as you danced in the middle of the ballroom. Clenching your fists, the bite of your nails digging into your palms brought you back to the present.

You looked up at him, wondering what you he believed you had to thank him for. Then it dawned on you.

“You’re the reason I got out so easily….wait. What did you do to the guards?” You demanded.

He rolled his eyes, “Nothing permanent. No need to overreact.”

“Overreacting seems reasonable considering the rumours about you,” You replied coldly, saying the words you never would have said or thought a year ago.

“I thought,” He flinched but stopped, banishing all emotion from his face, “So, you believe the rumours now. It’s nice to know you’ve gotten smarter since we’ve last seen each other, Midgardian. Good for you.”

“It’s great what a little first-hand experience can do to help,” You answered with a shrug, doing your best to keep the anger at bay.

He let out a dry laugh, the sound almost scary. The sound reminded you of the laugh he’d give Odin, and you froze, hating the sound. He raised a brow, looking down a you.

Scoffing, you shouldered past him and made your way to the driver’s seat. You flipped the switches, powering your ship, ready to go.

“What are you still doing here?” You demanded.

He leaned his arms on the headrest of the opposite seat and grinned, “You, Midgardian, are going to be my ride off this realm.”

“No.”

He snorted, “Think again. You do owe me for having gotten you and the eye out of Asgard.”

“I never asked you to do that and I never asked for that artefact,” You snarled, your hands tightening around the steering wheel, “I owe you nothing.”

He shrugged, “And yet, I’m not leaving. Unless you would like to find your ship in the middle of an angry mob in the next thirty seconds, you’ll find it in you to give me a ride.”

You looked out into the trees and saw nothing. He could be bluffing, but you had been sitting in your ship longer than was safe. You didn’t want to risk prison again. With a sigh, you decided that bringing him with you was worth saving your own life.

“I’m not bringing you to Asgard,” You snapped.

“Understandable,” He nodded, “Close enough will do.”

You shot him a look, to make sure he knew you were serious, “After that you get out of my life and stay the hell away. Deal?”

He smirked, “Deal.”


	3. A Magnetic Pull and a Reflexive Push

He took the seat beside you and glanced around your ship with a bemused look on his face.

“It’s a little messy,” You said, keeping your focus on your lift off, “Get over it.”

You could hear the smile on his face when he said, “I didn’t say anything.”

The sound of your tools hitting the floor let you know he’d brushed them off the passenger seat. Before he could sit down, you jerked your ship to the side and back, sending him careening into the side.

“Lots of trees,” You shrugged by way of explanation.

He huffed a little chuckled and took a seat, leaning back lazily as if you were his chauffeur. You gripped the steering wheel tight knowing that, despite your purposeful little dip, your ship was in no condition to even brush a tree on the way out. Almost the entirety of this job was going toward fixing your ship, but if something happened to it, well, you didn’t even want to think about that scenario. When you had landed on Praxius IX you had thought the cover of the trees was towpath the difficulty getting out, now you weren’t so sure.

“You haven’t sold it yet,” The Prince’s voice was barely more than a whisper, but you heard it loud and clear.

You didn’t need to ask what he was talking about. The Warlock’s Eye hadn’t moved from its position on the floor beside the passenger seat in the year you’d had it. When you’d landed on Earth a little over six months ago, you’d considered selling it to the museum, but you couldn’t make yourself do it. It was silly, but you couldn’t even get yourself to touch it, no matter how desperately you needed the money. Eventually you’d learned its mind controlling powers and there was no way in hell you’d ever risk it falling into some idiot’s hands on earth. You knew you weren’t in any place to hold onto such power, but it was hidden on your ship and that was that. At least it wasn’t being used, even if you were tempted to used it on the person sitting next to you.

His words weren’t a question, so you didn’t answer; let him think what he wanted.

Aggressive beeping sounded from your dashboard and you looked down at your monitor and swore.

“I thought you took care of it,” You growled with a glance in his direction.

He shrugged, “I was unaware that it would take you this long to get your ship off the ground. Pardon me for thinking highly of you.”

“I am going to kill you once we get out of here,” You promised.

He smirked, “Go ahead, but I must warn you, from past experience, it doesn’t seem to take.”

“Judging by the fact that there have been past attempts you could understand why I’d want to.”

He chuckled and leaned further back into the seat. If he was in the least bit worried, it didn’t show. The Praxian ships were gaining on you faster than you’d anticipated, and you willed your ship to go faster. Your engine was heating up, but you ignored it and forced it on.

“Care to do anything about this?” You snapped.

He shook his head, “There’s nothing I can do.”

You tore your gaze away from the front long enough to glare at him and flip him the finger. The wailing warning of an incoming shot grabbed your attention and you swerved the ship at the last second, narrowly avoiding the hit. Firing back, you managed to give yourself enough room to race around a tall mountain peak and head back the way you came, the mountainous scenery acting as a shield.

“I believe the way out is in the other direction,” Loki commented.

“I’m well aware,” You replied through gritted teeth, “But we’re not going to make it out that way.”

Coming into this job, you’d known that you might have to take a detour out, which hadn’t bothered you then. Now, the idea wasn’t so appealing. To get close to Asgard through the portal you were about to go through meant spending weeks in your ship. Your mortal body could barely handle three consecutive jumps at a time with at least a twenty-four-hour waiting period between jumps. The only benefit was that this way was looking like you’d make it out alive. At least this way you’d get your chance to stab the Prince.

Even though they were gaining on you, the portal was close enough that you’d make it. The ship was part way through the portal when something hit the side, sending you flying off your seat and onto the floor, the ship careening out of control. Your stomach dropped and you knew you were feeling the effects of the portal. When your head began to spin, and the urge to throw up washed over you, you knew you’d gone through a second one. You could barely move, wincing under the pressure as it flattened you to the floor of your ship. Despite the pain and kaleidoscope of colours fading in and out around you, you braced yourself for the crash. The ship rocked dangerously, but somehow, it was still in space.

When you could finally stand, you tumbled onto your seat. The Prince gave you a quick once over, brows knotted in concentration as he steered your broken ship as best he could. The ship had to land. It wouldn’t make it much further, but at least he’d saved it from crashing. Though you knew the landing wouldn’t exactly be far from a crash.

“I can take over,” You said when the world stopped spinning.

“I know,” He didn’t yield control, “But it would be more dangerous to switch seconds away from landing. You wouldn’t risk death for the sake of your pride, would you?”

You scoffed, “Like you’re one to talk about pride.”

“Would you like me to take my hands off the wheel then?” He threatened.

“Stop acting so childish,” You snapped, “Land the damn ship.”

“So touchy.”

The smirk on his face made you want to stab him so you said, “You’ll see how touchy I can get when you get up close and personal with my dagger.”

That wolfish grin only grew, “Well that was not where I was hoping you’d go with that sentence.”

You glared at him and braced against the side of the ship, the tall plant life and vegetation an unappealing landing pad. The best you could hope for was that nothing you’d hit would cause any permanent damage to your ship. With the hit you’d taken, you’d be stuck on this planet for a couple days. The worst you could expect was being stranded out here for who knew how long.

Strain was written all over the Prince’s face as he forced against gravity to slow the ship decent enough that the impact wouldn’t kill either of you. Panic lights were flashing red, warning you that your incoming speed was dangerously high for any kind of landing. The hit wouldn’t be gentle.

“You need to slow down,” You ordered even though you were well aware that it wasn’t possible.

“Buckle up,” The prince growled, putting up on the wheel. He spared you a glance when you didn’t move, “Now.”

You did as you were told seconds before the impact jerked you around like a rag doll. The turbulence seemed to last for forever, only opening your eyes when it stopped. Somehow you were alive, which was good, but could you say the same for your ship?

Looking around, you noticed Loki slumped over in his seat, head leaning against the wheel and blood coming out of his temple. A massive tree branch had broken through your ship trough the side and had jammed across the front practically screwing him.

You scrambled to unbuckle yourself, tripping over the seat as you rushed to him. You gently lifted his face and his eyes fluttered at the movement but didn’t open. Your heart pounded in your ears and you searched his face desperately for a sign that he was all right.

“Loki. Loki, say something,” You brushed hair away from his face, checking his pulse to make sure he was alive.

A groan escaped his lips and you let out a shallow sigh, still not convinced he was fine. He managed to open his eyes, the bright green dulled and sleepy.

“I thought you were going to stab me. Not make sure I live,” He slurred.

You considered letting go of him, but you couldn’t make yourself do it, “You’re not dying, Wolf. There’s no need to be so dramatic. It’s a concussion at worst. When you die, it’ll be my fault, not some accidental shipwreck.”

The corner of his mouth twitched upward, “Then I’d better not die, now should I?”

You narrowed your eyes, “Don’t you dare.

“Funny. I almost believe you care,” He murmured.

“Almost.”

You stared into his eyes and found yourself searching for some sort of explanation for the way things had ended the way they had. You had thought that maybe…You sighed and pushed the thought away. Despite his return, it was useless to think about it now. You needed to get him off your ship and then the two of you could go on your separate ways. Even if you had spent the better part of the past year thinking about what you’d say to the Prince when you finally saw him again, you knew you had to let it go. The past was in the past and the two of you had no future.

You backed off, “At least you got us here in one piece.”

“One of my many talents,” He shot you a weak smile and looked around, “Where is here?”

You took in the familiar forestry and checked your monitor for confirmation. You’d had your suspicions about where you’d landed but hadn’t wanted to think about it. Because if you were right, then that meant three more jumps to get close to Asgard than you’d originally planned.

“An old trading post I found years ago,” You sighed, letting your head fall back, “it’s off most of the maps. I found it by accident and logged it into the ship’s default destinations.”

“There’s nothing here,” He said.

“There’s enough to fix the ship and to get going again. And I didn’t choose to come here, the ship diverted here when we got knocked off course partway through the portal,” You snapped.

He pushed himself up, wincing, “How long should that take?”

“Depends on the damage,” You shrugged, “I’m hoping to get out of here as soon as possible.”

He raised a brow, “Is my company that despicable?”

His tone caught you by surprise, but his face showed nothing other than the bored indifferent you hated so much. Maybe you were imagining it. This wouldn’t be the first time. You had certainly imagined something that wasn’t there before.

“It definitely wasn’t wanted,” You replied, though there was far less bite in your words than before.

Those intense green eyes never left yours, “Wasn’t or isn’t?”

You didn’t know how to answer. You decided on deflecting the same way he always did, “You didn’t want my company in Asgard.”

He opened his mouth to speak but you shook your head.

“Don’t bother. I know you were only keeping me around as a means to your end. When you let me out of that cell, we made a deal. It was on me for being surprised that you’d risk my life and use my escape as an attempt to get the throne.”

Everything in his eyes hardened and his voice was cold as ice, “Your life was never in danger.”

“It took three days of waiting in a forgotten pocket of the universe before I could even think to begin the jumps back to Earth,” You spat, “Don’t try and tell me that my life was never in danger.”

You stood before the conversation could continue any further and headed toward the back of the ship. You needed to let go of the past. Let go of feelings you never should have had in the first place.

You paused before exiting, but didn’t turn to look at him, “I need to go and assess the damage. You’re in no condition to help. Stay here.”


	4. A Single Bed and a Separated Heart

The rush of dry, cool air eased the unrelenting onslaught of emotions you’d felt from the moment you’d heard his voice. You had no idea how you were going to manage the next few weeks of travelling with the Prince when the few hours you’d spent together had driven you crazy and had left you stranded on a nameless planet. The only benefit of being stuck out here was that your ship no longer felt two sizes too small, no longer confining you and the Prince in it.

You wandered further off, the frost covered grass crunching beneath your boots. This planet may have been deserted, but at least there were scrap pieces left behind from when it was still in function that you could use. Though, if you were being honest, the pieces were so old, the damage to your ship wouldn’t be easy to fix even with them. There was no way you’d be back up and running within the day and you were afraid to turn around and assess the damage on your ship, so you kept on walking. Without looking at your ship, you knew you’d need to ask the Prince for help, no matter how little you wantedto think about that possibility.

Tilting your head back, your gaze slid up the towering pale blue trees and watched the few snowflakes drift lazily through the air. Eventually, your breathing evened out and you were no longer in the mood to stab a particular someone.

You put your face in your hands and rubbed your eyes, massaging back and forth. How the hell did this happen? How were you supposed to get through the next few weeks? Things had been complicated enough when you’d been on Asgard, trying to convince yourself that you only thought of the Prince as a friend. Now, after everything that had happened - or not happened - between the two of you, was there any way for you to get through it unscathed? You couldn’t trust him anymore. You reminded yourself that you never could and believing you could was as reliable as one of his illusion. But at least he’d kept his promise and had given you your freedom from being Asgard’s glorified prisoner. It didn’t make forgiving him any easier, not that you wanted to. Not only did he not deserve your forgiveness, but he probably didn’t want it. He didn’t care about the consequences of his actions. Banishing him from your mind this past year had been a constant battle, and you weren’t going to let yourself go back down that road at the sight of him.

You felt for the note in your jacket pocket. You’d been carrying it around every day without fail, promising yourself that if you ever saw him again that you’d get answers. Now that he was here, you weren’t sure you wanted them. Bringing up the past meant bringing back everything you felt those final days with him. And that kiss. Thinking about his lips on yours still made your heart race, even though you knew it shouldn’t. But it did. No matter how hard you tried to shut away those feelings, it did. You didn’t trust yourself not to bring that up with him, so you wouldn’t bring up the past. Not when it still felt so fresh in your mind.

Shivering, you decided to head back and see how well your ship had escape and landing. When you approached the side of your ship that had taken most of the damage, the Prince was crouched beside a gaping hole at the rear, half of his body tucked into your ship.

“What are you doing?” You snapped.

If he was surprised by the sound of your voice, he revealed nothing, sliding back out lazily.

“I’m assessing the damage,” He said, matter of factly, “What does it look like I’m doing?”

You crossed your arms, “I told you to stay in the ship.”

He raised a brow, “You told me that I was in no conditions to leave. I am now.”

“Just because you heal quickly doesn’t mean I want you here,” You pushed past him to check out the hole.

“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” He answered dryly.

“I didn’t ask you to be here,” You poked your head inside the hole, “But now that you are, I want my dagger back. I don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“Who says I still have it?”

You pulled back out, “I do.”

He began twirling a blade - but not yours - up and down, catching it easily, “I believe our little deal was that you call out my illusions to get them back. That hasn’t happened yet.”

“Like you’re so good at keeping deals,” You spat.

He caught the knife, green eyes cold as he paused, gaze piercing, “Do you think your words will make me regret what I’ve done, Midgardian?”

“No,” You scoffed, “I don’t think you ever regret what you do.”

He began twirling the blade once more, “Good. I won’t ever regret what I did that day.”

“That makes one of us,” You took a step forward, “I don’t plan on asking nicely again, Wolf, give me back my dagger.”

“That’s not asking,” He crooned.

Your hand itched to grab one of your own daggers and stab him, “Still, it’s nicer than what I’m about three seconds away from doing.”

“But you haven’t earned your dagger and that was part of the deal,” He whispered, his warm breath tickling your ear, “You’re getting sloppy, Midgardian.”

You whirled around, expecting him to back off but he stepped closer so that your bodies were practically touching.

“What are you doing?” You scowled.

“Are you really going to talk to my chest?” He asked, his voice filled with humour, “Seems a bit rude.”

You shoved pasted him, refusing to have to look up at him because of the proximity. He was clearly playing some kind of game with you and you refused to be a part of it, holding tightly onto your anger. The anger was safe. It kept the pain and all the other feelings at bay; the ones that threatened to seep in any time he got too close. The sight of him felt like a hole in your chest and the only way you knew how to safely fill it was with anger. You’d learned the hard way that he was calculating, not caring. There was nothing he could do to help fill the hole that he’d created a year ago.

He caught up to you in a few quick strides, saying nothing as he kept pace.

“Leave me alone,” You spat.

“What’s your plan, Midgardian?” He asked, ignoring your demand, “That hole there doesn’t seem easy to fix.”

“It won’t be.”

He continued brightly, “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

“I don’t know,” You ground out, trying to hold back the tears burning behind your eyes.

This was all too much. The after effects of the consecutive jumps, your ship…him. All you wanted to do was go to bed and hope it would all magically be fixed when you woke up.

“What do you-”

“Do you ever shut up?” You snarled, whirling to face him. He smirked and you shoved his chest, but he barely took a step back, “I can’t think with you asking so many questions.”

He ran a hand through his hair, “I do. Shut up, as you so aptly put it. Although, if I’m being honest, I’m not too keen on it. My life is in your hands. I appreciate knowing what’s going on.”

A dry laugh escaped your lips, “Like I actually believe your life is in my hands!” You could hear your voice rising and you desperately tried to calm it even though there was nothing you could do about it. You hated that he was getting to see how much his presence was affecting you, “You’re here because of your own twisted reasons. You can leave whenever the hell you want. You always have a plan, a backup plan and another back up plan, Wolf.”

“It pays to be prepared,” He shrugged, sly grin pulling at his lips, “Gives you more time to watch the fun.”

You sighed, defeated and tired, “I don’t have time for your games.”

You stomped off toward the entrance to your ship, counting your breaths in an attempt to keep it together until you could hide away in your ship for a little bit. You were almost there when he called out.

“You’re going to have to let it out at some point, Midgardian.”

You didn’t want to stop and ask, but you couldn’t help yourself, and called over your shoulder, “Let what out?”

“That anger. It’ll burn you from the inside out.”

“Here’s to hoping it burns you too, because you’re the damned reason it’s there in the first place.”

Before you could break, you marched into your ship and away from whatever you might have seen on the Prince’s face if you’d turned around. You’d been through so much in the little time you’d spent on Asgard that you’d come to learn how to read the Prince and to feel for the pain you found in those emerald eyes. Or so you’d thought. Whether or not there was pain there or the cold and unyielding mask, you couldn’t bear to see either. If you did, your resolve might crack. And you knew that after his actions on that last day on Asgard, he didn’t care if you broke and shattered.

“That bed does not seem big enough for the both of us.”

You didn’t turn around at the sound of his voice and grabbed pillows from the storage boxes on the side. Your ship was too small and too old to have a belly compartment that functioned as a sleeping area, so your tiny Murphy bed contraption was the only thing you had. Once you sold the Wand, you’d have enough money to buy yourself a ship with room for a proper queen-sized bed.

“It doesn’t even seem big enough to fit you,” He continued, not fazed in the least by your lack of response, “The bed we gave you in the dungeon was probably far more comfortable than this one.”

You whirled around to do something - anything - that would get him to understand how out of line he was but stopped at the sight of the feral grin on his lips. A reaction was exactly what he wanted for you, though you couldn’t decide whether it was for an underlying cause or simply for his own amusement. Either way, it didn’t matter. It was what he wanted which was the exact reason you weren’t going to give him one.

“Don’t worry about it, Wolf,” You said in the calm voice you’d used as the Midgardian ambassador on Asgard, “You’re sleeping on the floor anyways.”

His smirk faltered, but slid back into place almost as quickly, “At least there will be more room on the floor. You wouldn’t happen to have an extra pillow stashed under there, would you?”

If it hadn’t been for that one break in the mask, pinching your heart in a way you wanted to ignore more than anything, you would have told him to suck it up and deal with it. That it was the least he deserved. But you couldn’t. You took the only other pillow you had and threw it at his face. He caught it before it came anywhere near him and a pleased smirk slid across his lips.

“Go to hell,” You muttered, lying down in your bed.

He chuckled, “Maybe later.”

Facing the wall and away from the Prince, you could hear him trying to find a comfortable position on the floor. The shuffling didn’t last long, and everything went silent except for the wildlife outside. This planet had strange and colourful night birds that glowed in the dark, their playful flying patterns creating streams of colours visible through the gaping hole in the ship.

A few tiny snowflakes drifted in and you pulled the flimsy sheet up higher, trying to shield out the cold night air that would only continue to drop in temperature. You shivered and curled in on yourself, using your own breath to warm your hands until you eventually fell asleep.

You awoke to the sound of your name and light shaking on your arm, the world around you pitch black.

“Wake up, YN.”

It took you a second to realize who the voice belonged to, and when you did, you backed into the wall, heart pounding. You couldn’t see anything, but you felt him back off too. 

“What’s going on?” You demanded in a whisper, a million terrifying possibilities running through your head.

“Nothing. Nothing’s going on,” His voice was calm and soft, and you felt yourself relaxed instinctively, “But…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, the words drifting off like he wasn’t sure he should say them. The gaping silence grabbed all of your attention and your breath caught in your throat. That was when you realized that you were shivering. And the more you realized it, the more you seemed to shiver until you were shaking almost uncontrollably.

“Something’s wrong,” He whispered, long fingers sliding delicately up your arms.

You tried to suck in a breath, the pain in your chest making it feel like you couldn’t breathe at all.

“It’s fine,” You said through chattering teeth, “It’s just cold. The hole isn’t keeping out the cold.”

“I know,” He said, hands beginning to rub up and down your arms, “But this planet gets cold at night. Too cold for a Midgardian.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Even in the dark you knew you’d find that dead-panned look on his face, “Doubtful.”

You felt your eyes begin to shut, your fingers slipping as you tried to pull the blankets up higher. At least you weren’t shivering anymore. And you were so tired. Why did had he even woken you up in the first place? You let yourself fall back into the mattress.

“Loki,” You slurred, wondering why the words weren’t coming out right, “Let me sleep.”

“All right,” He murmured, “But not forever, Midgardian.”

You weren’t sure what was happening, but you knew was that it was getting warmer. You were pulled into something warm and solid, and it slowly began to feel as if you were being wrapped in a bubble of heat. With a sigh, you melted back into the weight behind you and drifted off to sleep.

The next time you awoke, morning light filtered into your ship. Apart from the cool sensation along your back, you were nice and warm, especially compared to the snow lining the inside of your ship. Around you was a shimmering golden hue, the telltale sign of magic.

The Prince had to have placed a warming spell around your - wait. Where was he? He wasn’t on the floor anymore. Then you realized what the slightly cooler sensation was along your back. He’d used his own body heat - even if it was less than the average human’s - to keep you warm before the magic must have kicked in. You didn’t move, didn’t say anything. All you did was listen to the sound of his breathing, the even rise and fall of his chest against yours. You knew you should move; that you should hold onto your anger and the pain you felt at the sight of him and go on with your day as if nothing had happened. But you couldn’t muster up the energy to do any of that. Your body felt like lead and all you wanted was another fifteen minutes of sleep.

You let your body melt into his, not realizing how much you’d stiffed since you’d woken up. The hand draped over your stomach pulled you in a little closer, the scent of lemon and pine enveloping you like the bubble of warmth. A sigh escaped your lips and you tried to ignore the emotional war inside your head and looked at the facts instead. After every heist you ended up sleeping for about fifteen hours straight and you hadn’t gotten that this time. Instead you had gotten a messy ex-whatever he was, and a torn apart ship. You were staying in the Prince’s arms because you needed the rest, nothing more. You were just going to close your eyes for another five minutes and then you’d start fixing your ship as if tonight never happened. 

You must have fallen asleep for longer because the shimmering bubble of heat was gone and the snow in your ship had melted by the time you woke up. You’d forgotten about the contrast in temperatures on this planet during day and night and were actually kind of thankful to have the Prince’s cool body pressed against yours because the day was getting so hot. You slid out from under his arm and paused to look down at him. He had his arm under his head as a pillow and hair pushed back from his peaceful face, but even in sleep you had the impression he was exhausted. You hadn’t noticed before, but his face looked thinner and paler than usual, almost as if it had a blueish tint to it, and the bags under his eyes were impossible not to notice.

With the magic gone, you began to wonder if he’d slept at all last night. You weren’t an expert on magic, not even close, but you were pretty sure you’d heard somewhere that spells like these didn’t run on their own. That the sorcerer needed to stay alert and conscious the whole time.

His eyes opened as if he’d felt you staring at him, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, “Enjoying the view, Midgardian?”

“Did you sleep last night?” You asked, not knowing why it was so important that you know the truth but unable to stop yourself from asking.

His brows furrowed, green eyes scanning your body from head to toe twice over before his posture relaxed, “I beg your pardon?”

“Did you sleep last night or did your magic keep you up?” You repeated, your voice a little higher than usual.

“Of course I slept,” He shot you a watery smirk, “I don’t need to be awake for the spell to function. I slept like a baby, thank you for asking.”

You weren’t sure you believed him, but there was no reason he’d lie to you. Not for something like this. You wanted to smack yourself for continuously trying to find evidence that he cared. He was keeping you alive because you were his easiest way off this planet, but not at his inconvenience.

You scoffed, disappointed in yourself for forgetting what the situation was. You had to stop hoping that he cared because the truth was that he didn’t.

“I’ll get the hole fixed today,” You nodded, smoothing down your sweatshirt, “Hopefully the heating system wasn’t damaged, but if it is I’ll make sure it’s done too. This won’t need to happen again.”

He pushed himself up to a seat, the movement slow and tentative as if he was still feeling pain from the landing, “Was my company so despicable? I believe you were the one holding all the sheets hostage last night, not me.”

“It’s better that we stay apart,” You picked up a matter-rebuilding tool you’d bought off a snarky space racoon a few years ago, expecting a response but earning nothing but silence. Feeling his eyes on you, you turned, not sure how to interpret the look on his face. When you decided you weren’t going to get anything from him - that he’d shut you out like you’d done to him - you shrugged, “But thank you…for keeping me alive. I appreciate it, wolf.”


	5. A Poor Attempt and a Successful Hit

With what you kept on your ship in case of emergencies, and with the few missing materials the Prince had managed to conjure up for you, you were confident that you’d be up and running within the next day or so.

You were pretty sure you’d go crazy if you had to stay here in any longer.

The last two days had been excruciating. If you’d thought the Prince had been annoying when you’d crash landed, it was nothing compared to the way he seemed to be doing every little thing possible to annoy you. Your exhaustion had nothing to do with the fact that you’d fixed the bigger of the two holes in your ship and made sure the heat was running so that he could sleep on the floor but more with the fact that you were trying your hardest not to let him see how much him being here was killing you inside.

He was there no matter where you turned, being a nuisance as if his life mission depended on it. Half the time he didn’t do anything other than stand in the corner of your ship, arms crossed over his chest with that infuriating smirk on his lips. Even that was enough. If there was any chance of you forgetting everything that happened between the two of you, it was impossible with him hovering the way he did. Somehow - you didn’t know how - you were going to make it through these last few stays stranded on the planet without stabbing him or confessing your feelings.

You were inside the back end of your ship, welding the hole shut to keep the rain from coming in. Normally you would have finished the work on your larger hole, but you were tired of mopping up water. The bucket you’d placed beside you had needed to be emptied more than once in this morning already. During the day, the planet’s warm weather meant that you got rain rather than snow, and if you didn’t do anything about the hole now, you’d spend twice as long here just trying to mop the excess water from your ship. You weren’t going to spend a second longer here than necessary.

You felt more than saw the Prince arrive. He said nothing, but you knew he was somewhere, lurking in the background as you worked. You wanted to tell him to find something else to do, but you knew engaging only made things worse. If you could, you’d ignore him until you kicked him off your ship.

“I don’t think you’re doing that right,” He piped up.

You ignored him, focusing on the sub-atomic regeneration of your ship’s siding. All you had to do was finish this part and then you could take a break and cool off outside, in peace, alone. You didn’t care that it was raining, you needed to step away so you could finally breath. Being trapped in the ship with him felt like you were being suffocated by emotions you couldn’t name.

Yesterday, you had started ignoring him, and once he’d realized what was going on, he’d barely spoken to you. Until now. You kept working, hoping he’d leave, but you felt his presence like an electric hum.

You were only missing a couple square inches of surface area when a large crash scared you to the point you almost dropped the tool. Water soaking through your pants let you know exactly what had happened without you having to turn around. But you did, slowly, breathing in an attempt to stop yourself from losing it completely. The Prince stood before the toppled bucket, the pool of water now spanning most of this section of your ship. Clenching and unclenching your fists, you tried to convince yourself that it was fine. All you had to do was mop it up. Maybe kill him afterwards.

You were about to turn to finish the job when he spoke up.

“Clumsy me. I don’t know how that happened.”

You couldn’t even calm yourself down, your body reacted on instinct, whirling to face him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” You demanded, your voice echoing off the ship’s walls, “You can’t really think that I believe that you of all people tripped over that bucket. Do you want me to kill you? Because I’m seconds away from going through with it, Wolf.”

You unsheathed you dagger and whipped it up so that the tip poked into the skin under his chin, but not hard enough to draw blood. Yet. The Prince didn’t flinch; there was nothing but that cold, emotionless void in his eyes that you hated so much.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t go through with this right now,” You snarled, “I can’t see any good reason not to.”

“You’re not going to do it,” He stated calmly, voice filled with easy confidence.

You pressed the dagger even further, “Don’t be so sure, Prince.”

“I am,” He dipped his chin, a drop of blood sliding down the silver blade as he whispered, “You’re not a killer. I know what one looks like.”

The sincerity in his words took you by surprise, but you tried not to let it shake you, “There’s always time to start.”

He chuckled, “Even if you were, you’d need the skill to do so. I know for a fact that you don’t have that either.”

You shoved the dagger upward, but he moved out of the way faster than humanly possible. Little did he know that you were expecting it. You were already at him with a right hook and he barely moved fast enough that your hit glanced off his shoulder instead of his jaw. The miss put you off balance and you managed to block his side hit at the last second. You slashed at him again, this time coming at him with a few hits in quick succession. He blocked and parried them all, a fast-paced dance that sent you stumbling back. He took a predatory step forward, so you did the first thing you thought of and punched him in the nose.

His head whipped back, and you grinned, the adrenaline making a dangerous mix of your anger. He let out a huff and daggers materialized in each hand in response. You tightened your grip on your own dagger and backed into a fighting stance. He slashed across your stomach with blinding speed, but you knocked his hand away, falling back onto your heels. Taking advantage of your stumble, he advanced with a side hit that you barely blocked, the hit resonating in your bones. When the third hit came, you lifted the arm aimed at your chest and threw him back, slashing with your blade, twirling forward with the momentum. He stepped to the side to avoid your slashing blade and cross jabbed. The distance gave you just enough time to latch onto his arm, gritting with the force of keeping the sharp blade away from your skin.

He dropped the dagger into his other hand, and you kneed him in the leg, causing him to stumble. Recovering quickly, he flicked your blade out of your hand and came at you with a hit of his own. You bent backward under the singing blade and on your way back up, in desperation and anger, you slashed blindly and somehow nicked him in the face. He stumbled back in surprise, giving you enough time to kick him square in the chest. He fell back against the wall of your ship and slid down it.

“Is that all you’ve got, Midgardian?” He taunted, moments before you slammed into him, pinning him to the wall with your lower leg.

“No,” You growled, “I’m about to finish the job. Any last words, Wolf?”

He blew a strand of hair from his face, “I’m terribly sorry, Midgardian, but I don’t intend on dying today.”

Before you had any idea what was happening, you were flat on your back, the cold water from the ground soaking into your shirt. Loki hovered inches above you, keeping you pinned down with the weight of his body. You were panting hard, but the only evidence that Loki had just been in a fight was his messy hair and the cut on his face that was almost healed already. Nothing else was out of place, his breathing even. What was worse was this his eyes were bright, the corner of his mouth pulled into the roguish grin.

You tried to head-but him, but he flinched back fast enough to avoid the hit.

“You’ve been practicing,” He remarked, almost as if he was impressed.

You grit your teeth, “There’s not much else to do when you’re stranded in your ship, waiting for half of Asgard to stop chasing you.”

His eyes searched your face, the look almost too intense to hold, “It’s nice to see you made good use of your time.”

“I was going to let you screw me over twice,” You scoffed.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever screwed you,” He paused with a smirk, keeping you pinned down even as you tried to shove him off, “Over. I’m sensing some frustration, Midgardian. You know, I’ve heard that it’s better to let it out.”

You stopped struggling to glare at him, “I tried to kill you and it didn’t pan out. What’s the point of letting it out if it gets me nowhere?”

His face broke out into a devilish grin, “Maybe you weren’t letting it out the right way. You don’t actually want to kill me, Midgardian.”

“No, Prince,” You squirmed but he was too heavy, “I really do. Now, get off me.”

He searched your face, eyes flickering with a kaleidoscope of emotions you couldn’t make sense of. He leaned in close to that his lips almost brushed your ear when he drawled, “I’m sure we could find other, less deadly ways to let it out.”

Your whole body tensed, but you didn’t say anything, knowing better than to rise to his taunts; that was all they were anyways. He was playing a game to keep himself entertained and you’d had it. Two could play his game.

“Loki,” You whimpered, feeling his body go rigid at the sound of your voice, almost as if he was waiting for you to say more.

You stayed silent until he pulled back, lifting onto his elbows. His brows were knit together, with a wary look in his eyes.

“Get. Off. Me.” 

He smirked, looking far more at ease, “On one condition.”

“What?” You groaned, “Can’t you just get off me?”

“Let me help with the ship,” He continued.

“That’s what this was about?” You demanded incredulously, “All you had to do was ask, Wolf.”

He raised a brow, “And what would you have told me if I had?”

“I would have given you a job,” You retorted.

He laughed but the sound was void of humour, “That’s a lie.”

“No, it isn’t,” You said through gritted teeth.

“You can’t lie to me, Midgardian,” He murmured, “I know you.”

“Like hell you do,” You spat.

He shook his head and released you, moving away to stand at the far end of your ship. You didn’t fool yourself into thinking that he’d backed that far off because he was afraid of what you’d do to him. Despite trying his hardest to annoy you to death, he was giving you your space now for whatever twisted reason.

“What do you need me to do?” He asked.

You smoothed down your shirt, still pissed that you’d been pinned to the floor for that long, “Anxious to get back to Asgard?”

He grinned, “I’ve got plans.”

“Of course you do,” You muttered, “Mop up your mess. After that, come find me.”


	6. A Prince's Perspective and a Midgardian's Perplexity

Loki had to stop staring. It would be a test of his self-control, but he had to stop. Any hopes he’d had that YN wouldn’t want to kill him had vanished the moment she’d glared at him with nothing but contempt and betrayal in her eyes. And any thoughts he’d had about telling her what had happened on Asgard had died just as quickly.

Whatever she might have felt for him a long time ago - if he wasn’t deluding himself into thinking that there had been anything there at all - was gone now. He, unfortunately, couldn’t say the same for himself, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise. But she didn’t need to know that; she couldn’t know that. He hadn’t been able to tell her while they were still on Asgard - hadn’t been able to admit to himself or to her how much he cared. Loki wasn’t any closer to being able to now. Especially not when he knew she didn’t care for him. He knew deep down, from years of experience and disappointment, that she never would. Not with the way she was glaring at him now.

“What?” She snapped.

He raised a brow, and echoed, “What?”

“You’re staring.”

“Was I?” He leaned further back into his chair, lazily putting on a smirk just to piss her off.

If that anger was the only thing he’d get from her, he’d take it. It was better than the glazed, emotionless look she’d been giving him since they’d crash landed.

She rolled her eyes and faced the front, too pissed off to remember what she was annoyed about in the first place, which was his staring. Which he had to stop. Ignoring the frustratingly, irritatingly, miserable ache in his chest, Loki turned his attention back to the front of the ship. He’d been impressed by how quickly she’d gotten the ship up and running again, moving with practiced efficiency and incredible strength, working herself to the bone over the past four days. Loki had been relieved when she’d agreed to let him help, comforted by the fact that, at least with his help, she wouldn’t work herself to the point of fainting. He wasn’t entirely sure how fragile Midgardians were, but he should have known that YN wasn’t going to break easily. She never had.

The blur of colours flashed by as they passed through a jump point. Loki kept his eyes out front, forcing himself to remain aloof. She would be fine, he told himself as she let out a shaky breath, it was one jump point, she could handle it. To keep himself from staring, he watched the passing stars and the colours of the galaxy blend together like ink spilled on paper, until he found himself beginning to relax. He could see why she liked being out here; the freedom, the lack of expectations, the beauty of the chaos, and its simplicity. He understood the appeal. He wanted to ask her if those were the reasons she’d decided to do what she did or if there were other reasons. If she was lonely. If, like him, she enjoyed the solitude. Well, usually he preferred the solitude. Being with YN…it was like having the peace of solitude with the comfort of having someone at your back. Or at least it had back on Asgard. It was all gone now.

It was never meant to last, not for someone like him. Loki was destined to be left behind, never a first choice. He didn’t know how many times he’d let the poison in, the hope, before that lesson sunk in. But he was here with her, so obviously he hadn’t learned his lesson yet.

Not realizing what he was doing, he stared at her, memorizing every inch of her profile as she focused on steering the ship through an asteroid field. She looked no different now than she had then, but the differences to him were extraordinary. When he’d first met her, he’d been impressed by her bravery and her tenacity, even after she’d been thrown in the dungeon. But she’d still been a prisoner, everything about her muted by the fear of death and the desperation of having crashed her ship. The woman he’d seen steal the Wand was beautiful, powerful and everything else he’d found himself drawn to on Asgard. But from the moment she’d seen him, it had all disappeared. If he wasn’t half as selfish, he would leave because that was what she wanted. Yet, he couldn’t find it in himself to do so.

“Whatever you have to say,” She sighed, her eyes never leaving the front as she maneuvered the ship, “Just say it.”

He almost smiled, comforted by the fact that, despite everything, she seemed to be as aware of him as he was of her. Almost as if they could feel each other’s gazes like it was a tangible thing. Maybe it was. Maybe that was why, when what was between them had broken, there was no putting it back together.

“Who says I have anything to say?” He drawled, never one to give a straight answer, especially when it hid something as important as the truth. 

“I do,” She stated firmly.

“I don’t believe that’s a very reliable source,” He tsked, knowing the further they strayed from her question, the less she’d want the answer he couldn’t give her, “The inner workings of my mind aren’t exactly public knowledge.”

“Did you know that there’s such a thing as a straight answer?” She countered, swerving so suddenly that he had to put a hand out to steady himself.

He smirked, “Isn’t that the only kind of answer?”

“You’re infuriating,” She shook her head, though Loki had the impression that maybe she wasn’t as quite as upset as she’d first let on.

The light inside him begin to burn again with hope but he snuffed it out before he could get caught up in it. There was no use grasping at illusions. He knew that. He stayed quiet, drifting in and out of thought as they floated slowly through space. She’d warned him before taking off that they’d be going slower for the first few jumps so she could make sure everything was working correctly, telling him that if he so much as commented about the speed that she’d float him off the ship, their deal be damned. He’d been tempted to say something earlier, just to see that firecracker temper, but he hadn’t. He knew how far to push her, and he knew now wasn’t the time. The ship’s crash landing had taken far more of a toll on her than he’d realized, so he’d given her her space as soon as she let him help.

Although he tried to remain focused on the front, he couldn’t help but notice that she couldn’t seem to sit still. Her hand would slide over her jaw or massage her temple. She’d readjust her seat, then readjust it again moments later. It was only when he looked at the time that he realized she’d been steering the ship for over seven hours.

He opened his mouth, shut it, then decided the moment her eyes closed for longer than a blink, that he had to say something.

“Did you know that the elite on Asgard still believe that Midgardians are only awake for two hours a day?”

She stilled for a moment, then a small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. It was barely visible from where he was sitting, but the sight of it made him feel triumphant nonetheless.

“Of course, they would believe almost anything,” He prattled on, though choosing his words carefully, “But they would still talk about you even after you were no longer the ambassador.”

Her smile faltered but it didn’t vanish completely, “What do they say about me?”

“They were impressed that you could do your job all day long and attend those parties without falling asleep,” He said, returning his gaze to out front.

Her voice only held a slightly bitter edge when she said, “Who knew all I had to do was stay awake to impress them.”

“If they saw you now, they’d be blown away.”

“Why do you say that?” She asked warily.

He sucked in a breath, knowing she wasn’t going to like what he was about to say, “You’ve been driving for almost eight hours, Midgardian. I doubt they would even imagine that to be possible.

Her brows furrowed as she looked at the time.

“I think you should take a break,” He continued before she could say anything else.

Her expression froze over, “I’m fine.”

He didn’t believe her for a second, “Are you?”

“Not that I need to explain myself to you,” She snapped, that icy anger coming back, “But we’re almost at the third jump point. We’ll stop once we cross.”

He scoffed, “You’ll do it, but you might not be conscious on the other side.”

“I’ll be fine,” She growled.

“Doubtful,” He tried his hardest to keep the emotion from his voice though he knew he wasn’t doing a decent job.

She cut him off when he was about to say more, “I’m getting us to that jump point, Wolf.”

“You don’t have to,” He snarled, “Please, Midgaridan, let me drive.”

She stilled and so did he, realizing what he’d just said. Realized that his words sounded very close to begging, and Loki didn’t beg. He didn’t ask. He found a way to take what he wanted. The ship slowed to a stop and she stared at him, eyes narrowed as if searching for a trick or an illusion. He didn’t blame her. He would have assumed it was a trick also if he hadn’t known better. He tried not to fidget under the weight of her gaze, feeling exposed as if she could see right to his very core; afraid she’d see past whatever facade he had left if he tried to recover with some sort of quip. She had this uncanny ability to see beneath the mask he wore in public and he couldn’t bear the thought of being at her mercy - at anyone’s mercy. His instinct was to lash out, to turn the tables on her, to make her feel as powerless as he felt in the moment, but he couldn’t. Loki didn’t want to hurt her. Not anymore than he already had. Yet, he hated every second of the growing silence that she sat there, staring at him. Conflicted over a single word - one he’d said a million times in his life, only never in this context - he waited to see what she would do next.

“Okay, Loki,” She whispered, never dropping her gaze, “You can drive.”

He shivered, mesmerized by the sound of his name on her lips. He’d heard her say it less than a handful of times, and every time it was like she hit him with a burst of magic, dark and tempting and exciting.

Before she could wonder why he was staring like an idiot, he nodded and stood. In the close quarters of the helm, when she did the same, they were almost chest to chest. She tilted her head back, looking up at him, not with the usual contempt he’d gotten used to seeing, but almost like she did back on Asgard; like she actually saw him. The look made his breath catch and he realized he’d given up on not staring. He’d had no choice. All his energy was focused on not closing the distance between them. He’d missed her. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed her until now. After she’d left, he'd found himself looking for her at parties and found himself walking by her door in the morning as if his feet had been trained to walk to her door to make sure she was the first person he saw in the morning. He’d known he missed her. He just hadn’t realized how much.

“Whatever you have to say,” She murmured, eyes searching his face, “Just say it.”

Maybe he could tell her the truth. Maybe he could fix things right here. He sucked in a deep breath.

Panicked beeping burst out of the dash console and YN sprang into action as if the ship was on fire. She was back in the seat, flicking the extra blasters on, the momentum almost causing him to lose his balance.

Loki sat down, “Are we about to die, Midgardian?”

“No,” Her eyes darted to the console’s tele-screen and back, “But I’ve programmed the ship to alert me when there’s another ship in the vicinity coming in our direction.”

He looked down at the screen and couldn’t find anything to be alarmed about, “And you think they’re here for you?”

“I have pissed off a few people recently, but no. I just like to be sure,” She flipped another switch, “The more distance I can keep between me and everyone else the better.”

“Then we’d better switch drivers now,” He said, not one to forget what he had been fighting for in the first place.

“Give me five minutes to make sure we really lose these guys and then I will. But I’ll sleep in the passenger seat in case anything goes wrong,” She kept her eyes on the front, not looking at him when she said, “Because I don’t trust you.”

He didn’t say that he was more than capable of driving the ship or that he wouldn’t let any harm come to it. It didn't matter because she didn't trust him. Instead, he nodded, glad that, despite everything, she’d agreed to let him drive.


	7. An Unexpected Fight and a Fated Death

The ringing in yours ears was deafening, and you slowly blinked the world back into focus. Everything spun as your tried to lift your head, the landscape blurring. Something grabbed your arm and you shrieked, scrambling to get away.

“You need to get up, Midgardian. Now.”

The words were barely more than a whisper, but you had a feeling he was shouting at you. Stumbling you somehow managed to find your footing, leaning on Loki to keep you upright. He practically ripped your arm out of its socket as he yanked you out of the way of another series of shots. You winced in pain, stumbling along with him. Your senses were coming back too slowly, and you couldn’t risk letting go of his hand. You swore.

Another blast nearly threw you off your feet and Loki lifted you upright without missing a beat. Before you knew what was happening, he pulled you into a tight alcove within the wall of rock, pressing your bodies in. The space was crammed, your chests were almost flush up against the other with barely enough space to tilt your head back. Another shot sent dust flying into the alcove. You ducked your head, coughing as you tried not to breath in the debris. For a moment, nothing happened.

“What the hell, Prince?” You growled.

He opened his mouth to answer but flinched away from the splay of rocks ricocheting from a nearby shot.

“Loki!” You yelled, “Why are we getting shot at?”

He turned so fast you barely saw him move. He shoved you against the back wall, shielding your body with his as the shoot exploded beside you, the sound deafening. His face was inches from yours, his hair forming a curtain, closing you off from the pain of the world around. You tilted your head back to look him in the eyes. They were bright green, dancing with far more amusement that you thought appropriate.

“What did you do?” You glared, your breath brushing aside a dark strand of hair.

He inched closer, his nose practically touching yours, “I may have angered some people.”

“You think?” You scoffed.

You shoved him back and tried to step past him, but he grabbed your arm.

“What are you doing, Midgardian?” His voice had lost some of its amusement, though none of its cocky edge.

“Fixing this mess,”

He raised a brow, “It’s not safe out there.”

“And who’s fault is that?” You pulled a gun from your waistband and shrugged him off you.

Firing a few shots around the corner, your retaliation provided enough cover for you to sprint across the valley to the nearby boulders. Shots whizzed past as you dove behind the boulders, the rocky terrain tearing at your palms. You scrambled to a crouch and checked the cabin of your gun, realizing you were going to have to make do with the five rounds and the daggers you kept in your boots. You’d chosen to wear protective gear before you’d left the ship because of Loki’s cryptic comments and you were damn glad you had. From what you’d seen, there were five of them, which meant that, unless they had backup, there was no room to miss. You swore as another shot blasted into the boulder, missing you by inches. You looked up to where Loki stood in the alcove, an unreadable expression on his face.

You flipped him the bird knowing he understood exactly what it meant.

A deep breath in and out calmed the adrenaline enough so that you were able to form somewhat of a plan. You grabbed a rock and threw it into the clearing. Shots echoed off the valley walls and the moment the firing stopped, you peeked your head over the boulder and fired at the first man you saw. You ducked before you could get a good look at what you’d hit, but you were pretty sure he was down.

You popped back up and find another two shots, one of their bullets singeing your ear as it whistled past. Ignoring the pain, you watched another man go down and slid back to a crouch. You’d missed the other one. Lifting your fingers to your ears, you swore as you came back with blood on your hand.

Before you could decide what to do next, you were jumped from the side, your gun skittering across the ground. You grit your teeth, wrestling with the man to get the upper hand. He knocked the breath out of you with a blow to the stomach, but you managed to stay standing long enough whip the dagger from your boot. Moving on instinct, you blocked and parried until you buried the dagger in his thigh, his cry of pain deafening. He doubled over and you kneed him in the face, the crunch of his broken nose a relief as he crumpled to the ground.

Panting, you whipped around, knowing you weren’t done.

An image of yourself striding across the clearing gave you enough cover to approach from the far end where the fog was thick and low. You caught the last man by surprise, but he was stronger and faster than the last one. He threw you to the ground and you scrambled to your feet as another punch sent you back down again. His dagger came down with blinding speed, but you rolled to the side just in time to see the metal embedded in the rock beside you. You kicked his legs out from under him, and rolled on top of him, your legs tightening in a chokehold until he passed out.

You shoved him off you with shaky legs, breathing hard as you pushed yourself up to a stand. Wiping the sweat from your brow, you searched the body for any hint of who they were or why they were here. There was no way you’d get a straight answer from the Prince, so you needed to find it yourself. You didn’t recognize the race of the attackers and there wasn’t a shred of evidence anywhere on him.

You placed your hands on your hips, taking a moment to breath now that the fight was over. Then you heart dropped in your chest, fear spiking through your body.

Four men. Four men had gone down.

You had counted five. Where the hell was the last one?

You ran through the fog, eyes straining to find the last man or Loki. Skidding a stop and the edge of the clearing, your head whipped around as if it was on a swivel, desperately trying to find either one of them. Then you spotted him.

Loki strolled out of the alcove, hands stuffed into his pockets, his eyes darting around as he looked for you. Fear exploded in your chest and you almost screamed at him to move but caught yourself at the last second. Yelling would only compromise both your positions.

You searched the fog, the backs of your eyes burning from focusing so hard. Maybe you’d counted wrong.

But you hadn’t. You spotted him too late, watching as he fired so close to Loki that even his god-like speed couldn’t stop the bullet aiming for his heart. You were frozen in place, trying to scream but nothing came out. The impact knocked him to the ground, a horrifying thud echoing off the rock walls.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, at the first sight of the blood pooling around his body, everything came back into razor-sharp focus and you flung your dagger at the man. It sunk clean into his hand and he stumbled back in surprise. Blinded by rage, you closed the remaining distance and knocked the man out before he even knew what had happened.

You gasped for breath, choking out sobs as you reached out for a nearby rock to keep yourself standing. You wrapped your other arm around your stomach, refusing to look back at his body, every breath harder than the last. You were too late. You were too late. You were too late. The words echoed over and over again until they were the only thing you could hear. You hugged yourself a little tighter. Eventually, your breathing slowed, and the words subsided.

The man groaned as you ripped the dagger from his hand, and you turned around slowly to face Loki. Your gut clenched all over again and for a second you thought you were going to throw up. And then the feeling was gone.

You rolled your shoulders back and tried to force all the tension from your body, strolling through the clearing to where the Prince’s body lay sprawled on the ground.Blood pooled beneath his chest where the shot had gone straight through his heart. His eyes were open, unblinking and unseeing, and his skin had already taken on a blueish hue.

 _It wasn’t real_ , you promised yourself, the naive hope keeping the gut-wrenching sickness at bay. _It wasn’t real. This isn’t real._

“If you ask me, this is all a little too theatrical for my taste, and quite frankly, a little unnecessary, but I will admit that it wasn’t entirely useless,” You nudged him with your toe, horrified by the solidity, holding your breath as you waited - hoped - for it to shimmer away. When that familiar green light surrounded the body until there wasn’t nothing but purple dirt under your foot, you started breathing again, filled with relief you couldn’t show him, “I mean, this way I did get the last guy and now that I’ve guessed your illusion, I can get my dagger back. Our little deal still stands, right Prince?”

“All this and you didn’t shed a single tear,” His voice drawled from behind you, “Should I be insulted?”

Even though your theory had been confirmed by the shattered illusion, seeing him standing behind you, hands stuffed into his pockets, head tilted to the side with that infuriating sly grin on his lips, made your knees weak. You almost ran to him, either to stab him or to wrap your arms around him you weren’t sure yet, but you forced yourself to stay still and impassive.

“Maybe you should be flattered,” You shrugged.

His head titled a little further as he inspected you, “How so?”

You shrugged again, not sure what else to do with yourself, “You taught me well enough to know it was an illusion.”

The corner of his mouth pulled up a little higher. The several feet between you suddenly felt like miles as you stared at each other saying nothing. Every inch of you felt drawn to him and your muscles itched to move, as if standing still was a million times harder than taking the few steps to close the distance between you. Those bright green eyes were all you could see, and he looked at you as if you were the only thing on Morag.

Then he took a step forward. Your feet reacted before your brain could until you were standing a foot away from each other, your gazes locked tight.

He opened his mouth to speak but before you realized what you were doing, you slapped him across the cheek as hard as you could, watching as he barely registered the hit. Instead, that roguish grin spread across his lips.

“I should have shot you myself instead,” You whispered, “You…You almost got us killed.”

“But I didn’t,” He leaned in a little closer and continued in a conspiring whisper, “And you took care of those inconveniences quite brilliantly I must add.”

You almost slapped him again at the words ‘inconvenience’ but you kept it together, answering coolly, “And you only faked your death.”

“I’m glad we know our roles,” He chuckled, as if he found this whole thing particularly amusing, “And you can’t blame me for using illusions. They work every time.” 

“You’re infuriating,” You ground out.

“I’m-” Whatever he had been about to say died on his lips and his hand immediately went to your arm, “You’re hurt.”

Your hand fluttered up to your ear, “Yeah, it’s nothing. It’s just a scratch.”

“No,” He shook his head, brows drawn over worried eyes, “Your arm.”

Confused, you glanced down at your arm held gently in his hand. A long gash had cut through your protective gear, blood still leaking out. By pointing it out, the adrenaline disappeared, leaving you with nothing but the pain, and you almost collapsed. The only reason you didn’t was because he held you upright.

“Sit,” He pulled you along to a small boulder.

“Loki, I’m fine,” You protested, trying to ignore the tingling sensation in your hand, “It’s just a scratch.

Your other protests died at the glare he shot your way. It wasn’t every day you were on the receiving end of that look, and it was enough to keep your mouth shut. He sat you down and crouched in front of you so that you were now at the same height.

“Take off your shirt,” He ordered.

You glared at him, “Not when you say it like that I don’t.”

“I won’t be able to clean the cut, and we need to,” He snarled, “If you don’t take it off, I will.”

You crossed your arms over your chest, not caring that the motion made you want to cry out. His wince was enough for you to know that he was aware of how much it pained you to do it.

“You will not do anything like that unless I say so,” You growled back, “Ever. I don’t care who you think you are, Prince. Ask nicely or I’m walking the rest of the way to the ship by myself and leaving you here to rot.”

He closed his eyes, taking longer than you thought he’d have to to steady his breathing, “May you please take off your shirt so that I may clean your wound, Midgardian?”

You grinned, “Yes, Prince. I may.”

You moved to take off your sweater and immediately realized that crossing your arms had only drained what little energy you had left. Lifting your arm above your head to slip out of the stiff, protective sweater was going to be impossible. You sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, hating what you were about to do.

“Prince?”

“Hmm?” His eyes lifted to meet yours.

You forced yourself to say the words, “Help me out of my shirt?”

His lips spears into a slow grin that sent shivers down your spine. You weren’t sure if you wanted to stab him or close the distance between you two. Both were equally appealing.

“When you ask so kindly, how can I say no?” He said, eyes bright.

You rolled your eyes, “Just get it over with.”

“Midgardian,” He purred, “You’ll need to let go of that dagger first,”

You realized you were still holding the dagger and had it pointed in his direction. He eyed it warily as if he didn’t trust the idea that you weren’t about to stab him with it.

The thought was comforting.

You tried to muster the energy to put it on the rock beside you, but the dagger clattered onto the ground. Loki inspected your face even further, eyes searching as if he had a feeling he’d missed something the first time around. The look was so raw and captivating that you forgot about the pain for a moment, leaning forward slowly. He did the same until the distance between so you so small that it felt electrically charged. It would be so easy to close the distance and got lost in his comfort. But it was never that easy.

“I swear,” You warned, somehow remembering yourself and pulling back, “If you try any of that telepathy voodoo on me right now…”

With an arm out of commission and your energy level at an all time low, there was no way he didn’t know that your threats were empty, but if felt good to say the words anyways.

He narrowed his eyes, “I won’t have to if you tell me everything that’s wrong.”

“Can we just get this done and over with?” You muttered, looking past his shoulder to avoid eye contact, “I don’t have the dagger anymore if that’s what you’re worried about.”

With a sigh, he shook his head and mumbled, “That’s not what I’m worried about, Midgardian.”

His hand slid down your arm to your torso, fingers curling around the hem of your sweater. Pausing, he looked up at you for confirmation before easing the material upward. The movement was slow, almost delicate as he paused before and after movements that had you sucking in sharp breaths of pain. He pulled the sweater over your head ever so slowly, the material tickling your cheek as it brushed past. Teeth clamped tight, you focused on those green eyes as he pulled the sweater from your arm. When it was off, he gently placed your arm down at your side and you let out a shaky breath.

“I would have cut it off if you had something else to wear,” He whispered, eyes brushing over your sports bra and bare skin.

If it had been anyone else, you would have described the look on his face as sheepish, but this was the Prince, and you knew you had to be imagining things.

“Are you afraid I’m going to catch a cold?” You snorted, trying to hide how exposed you suddenly felt.

He rolled his eyes, “Forgive me. It is hard to remember exactly how fragile you Midgardians are.”

The Prince materialized medical supplies and began cleaning out the gash on your arm, working gently and methodically. He stopped when you hissed in pain, your nails digging into his arm to try and stop from passing out. Only when your grip loosened did he keep working. You were lucky he kept any medical supplies with him at all…but nothing with the Prince was luck.

“Loki? What are you doing with basic medical supplied in your magical pocket or whatever you call it?” You asked in a small voice, focusing on the movement of his fingers wrapping the bandage around your arm, “I know you don’t need it for yourself.”

He didn’t say anything, which was enough of an answer. He didn’t need the supplies, but you did. You had no idea when he had stashed it or how exactly his magical abilities worked, but he had done so on the off chance you got hurt. Or maybe it wasn’t an off chance. Maybe this wasn’t him showing that he cared, but rather a glimpse into another dangerous scheme of his that would most likely result in you getting hurt in the crossfire. And now that you thought about it, that was exactly what happened. Whatever it was he needed you for, he couldn’t have you die on him before he accomplished it. But you wouldn’t be blindsided again. This time you, you were going to figure out what exactly he was planning.

As if sensing your anger, he spoke up, “I couldn’t have the captain of my ride dying before she returned me to Asgard. It pays to be prepared.”

You shot him an unimpressed look, “Not pissing people off also pays off.”

“Like you would know,” He smirked, “Midgardian, know that I speak with all honesty in my heart when I say that you are wanted on more planets than I.”

Against your will, a smile tugged at the corner of your mouth, “All the same planets?”

“Unfortunately not,” He replied, that sly grin falling away into one a little more natural - more familiar.

You chuckled, “I doubt there’s a place in the universe that’s safe for both of us.”

“Your ship is welcoming,” He mentioned, lifting your arm gently and helping you back into your sweater.

You poked your head out and swatted his hand away so you could do the rest yourself, “We’d better find that missing piece and get back there before more of those people come after you, and by association, me.”

He nodded to the side, directing your attention to a black mass a few feet away, “It seems our little fight may have led us to it.”

“That doesn’t let you off the hook for your idiocy,” You pointed out before he could take credit for finding it, “And then you’re going to explain to me what the hell you did to piss them off so much.”

He stood and slipped an arm around your waist, helping you to do the same, “Can you walk?”

“Of course I can,” You scoffed, stepping away from him despite it being the last thing you wanted to do, “I cut my arm, not lost a leg.”

His hand lingered on your waist even though you were standing steady, "I'm certain you would have walked back even if you had.”

You grinned, “Damn straight I would have.”

“Midgardian,” You had no idea how to read his expression; the slight quirk of his lips at odds with the seriousness in his eyes, “You would have wreaked havoc if you had been Asgardian instead of mortal.”

“I would have been quite a match for you,” You replied, comforted - and honestly a little flatted - by the thought.

You turned back to head to the ship knowing he would take care of the piece. You were already a few steps away when you through you heard something like “You already are,” but dismissed it quickly as a trick of the wind.


	8. A Simple Lie and a Complicated Truth

“So, who was that and why did they feel the need to kill you?” You tumbled onto the seat of your ship, barely able to keep standing any longer.

He looked you over, a wary look on his face, “I don’t believe that’s our main concern at the moment.”

“And what _do_ you believe our main concern is at the moment?” You asked, mimicking his tone.

He shot you a look that let you know he wasn’t impressed.

“Go on,” You continued, unable to hold the sarcasm from your voice, “You’re holding all the cards at the moment. I’m completely clueless. If getting answers isn’t my main concern, what is?”

Standing, he motioned for you to get up as well. When you struggled, moaning as you leaned up against the arm rest of the seat, he raised a brow.

“Don’t say it,” You growled.

He smirked and went ahead anyways, “You are in no condition to stand, let alone repair your ship. I suggest we stay here.”

“Not going to happen,” You snapped, “There could be more of them coming - whoever they are - and I’m not risking my ship, or my life again because of your stupidities.”

He stared at you for a long time, but you refused to back down. Just because you were injured and human, didn’t mean that you couldn’t get the job done and make the smart decisions. Sensing your resolve, he nodded.

You sighed, “Good. Wait here and I’ll be back.”

He grabbed your good arm as you turned to leave, stopping you in your tracks, “You look like you’re going to faint. Let me do it.”

“I’m fine,” You lied, trying to even out your breathing.

He snorted, “Of course. Let me fix your ship, Midgadian, and I’ll give you all the answers you’d like.”

Everything you’d wanted to ask him from the moment you left Asgard flashed through your mind; the questions were eating you alive. You needed answers and he had to know that he held the biggest bargaining chip by dangling them in front of you, but you couldn’t let him off that easy. You refused to let him know just how far you’d let him into your heart while you still were on Asgard.

“Or you could let me fix the ship and tell me after,” You countered.

He stepped closer, your bodies a mere inch apart as he dipped his head to whisper, “You’ll have to make me.”

You glared at him.

“Oh, that’s right,” He chuckled, the sound a soft rumble in his chest, “You can’t. If you want answers, Midgardian, all you have to do is trust me.”

You grit your teeth, weighing your options. He was asking you to trust him to fix your ship in exchange for answers. You couldn’t trust him, but he _was_ right. If you didn’t fall over making your way to the engine room, you’d pass out trying to lift the broken piece to weld it back into place.

Deep down, you knew you were going agree. You told yourself it was because you knew you had to get off this planet, but really, it was because a part of you, no matter how small, trusted him to take care of the one possession you cared about the most.

The mocking glint in his eyes had flickered away, soft hope, small but visible taking its place. Maybe this wasn’t just a game. Maybe, among the tricks and theatrics that made him, well, him, there was some truth there. A chance he was asking you to take, because no one else ever had.

“Okay, Loki,”

His eyes widened slightly.

“But I’m going to supervise the whole time,” You warned, poking him in the chest despite the pain in your arm, “And if I see something, anything, I don’t like while you’re fixing it, you’re out.”

His hand wrapped around your finger, smoothing out your clenched fist until it lay flat on his chest - his heart - with his own atop it. He waited until your gaze lifted from your hands to his eyes to speak.

“That’s all I’m asking for,” He whispered, “I will protect it because it’s yours.”

You stared into his eyes, the feel of his beating heart beneath your palm and you knew he was telling the truth. And despite how mad you were with him, his words broke your heart a little more, because you knew Loki always chose his words carefully, and the thought of what he might mean, what he really meant, was almost too much to handle.

Loki had been surprisingly adept at fixing your ship, and within the hour, he was flying you off the planet. Standing had taken so much out of you that you hadn’t even protested when he said he’d steer. Although you’d taken a seat next to him, you’d fallen asleep in seconds, only waking up when he’d warned you about the upcoming jump.

“How much longer until the next jump?” You asked, knowing it would be your last one.

His eyes drifted to the screen, fingers drumming on the wheel as if he’d been driving your ship his whole life, “Another six hours.”

You nodded, readjusting your position, trying to stave off the numb feeling in your but.

“Why there?” He continued, staring at the name of the planet you’d programmed into your ship’s destination.

“Because everyone needs a criminal sometimes,” You shrugged, “Even if no one wants to admit it.”

He took his eyes off the front to shoot you a sly grin. You smirked back and settled further into the seat, lifting your feet onto the dash of your ship.

“You owe me some answers, Prince,” You said.

He nodded, “What would you liked to know?”

You closed your eyes, head falling back onto the headrest, “Typical of you to make me ask the questions instead of telling me the answers.”

“I simply believed that was what you wanted,” He replied innocently.

You scoffed, “You know damn well I want answers. If you only give me information based off of questions I’ve asked, then I don’t necessarily have the answers I want.”

He smirked, “Then ask the right questions, Midgardian.”

“That wasn’t the deal.”

“How am I not upholding our deal when you can ask the number of questions you’d like?” He paused and thought for a moment, “Unless, of course, you don’t think you’re capable of asking the right questions.”

You rolled your eyes, “You’re an ass.”

His lips pulled into a wolfish grin, “I’m the God of Mischief.”

“Okay, _God of Mischief_ ,” You replied in a mocking tone, “Who were those people back there?”

“Members of specially trained guards,” He replied vaguely.

You sighed, exasperated, “Why are they after you?”

“I may have broken into their vault some time ago.”

“To steal…” You prompted.

“Nothing,” He shrugged, “After all the trouble I went through, they didn’t have what I wanted.”

You looked over at him more closely, “So why come after you now?”

“Because,” He paused, brushing the hair from his face, “I may have tried to steal something else of theirs recently.”

You almost smacked him upside the head, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

His eyes widened at your outburst, but you pushed on, not letting him get a word in, “You’re not a thief! You’re a Prince, a powerful sorcerer, and you’re relatively infamous, but you’re not a thief! You’re going to get yourself killed!”

He chuckled, “Is this concern? Should I be flattered?”

“You should be smarter than this,” You snapped, smacking him across the arm, “What the hell did you try to steal now?”

He smiled even wider at your hit, “An object I stored away a long time ago. It’s proving harder to retrieve than I initially thought.”

“And that’s why you decided to come find me…” You mumbled, something in you deflating, making you think that maybe, somewhere deep down, you’d hoped there was another reason for his finding you.

“I only want the best,” He drawled.

You crossed your arms, “When were you planning on tell me?”

“Whenever you asked,” He simply replied.

“And if I never did?”

“I knew you would,” He shrugged, “You’re too smart not to.”

“I should stab you right here,” You growled.

He shrugged once more, “And then you’d be without a driver.”

You shook your head, “Idiot”

“Again,” He smirked, “God of Mischief. It shouldn’t be that hard to remember.”

Ignoring his comment, you asked, “So what’s so special about this object you want back?”

“It’s less the object itself and more what’s in it. Actually, you may be familiar with the object. It’s a Faberge egg.”

“You stole a what? Why?” You demanded, unable to hide your confusion and interest.

He waved his hand as if it wasn’t a big deal, and you supposed for an Asgardian, it wasn’t, “A little fun. The theories that have come up since their disappearance have made my little trips to Midgard slightly more amusing.”

You almost smacked him again, “What’d you hide in it?”

He didn’t answer for a long moment until finally, his expression darkened, and he said, “Something that would help me seal my rightful place as king of course.”

“I should have known,” You muttered.

“Will you help?” He asked, all the arrogance in his voice gone.

You thought it over, knowing that with him on your ship, it wasn’t much of a question, “I get to keep the egg.”

He nodded, “Of course.”

“Fine,” You sighed, wondering what you’d just gotten yourself into, “But we have one stop to make first.”


	9. An Accurate Find and a Mistaken Identity

You walked down the pristine white streets, watching Loki as he eyed the surroundings warily. You tugged him along, his hand in yours you weaved through the crowd of people going about as if they didn’t have a care in the world. To any unknowing civilian, the two of you looked like any other couple, wandering the streets of Xandar on a warm, sunny afternoon, enjoying the fresh air. That cover was the main reason you kept him so close. The other was to make sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid.

Even though, technically, you knew you were safe on this planet, there was always a small part of you that was worried. No matter how much this deal would benefit you, the fact that you were at their mercy never slipped your mind.

The crowd thickened the closer you got to the Nova Corps base and Loki’s steps slowed, though you weren’t sure if it was because of the wave of people or if it was because of something else.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this,” He said as you slipped around the building to the back end, “But these people will arrest you on sight. What you do isn’t exactly legal, Midgardian.”

“True,” You amended, “But they’re not going to arrest me.”

He peered down at you curiously, “And why is that?”

“Because sometimes,” You smirked before pushing open the door and pulling him in with you, “Even good people need someone to do a bad thing,”

He followed, intrigued, as you navigated the winding grey corridors.

“I can see that this isn’t the first time you’ve done this,” He remarked. Noting your look, he elaborated, “This isn’t the main entrance. I doubt you could find your way had this been your first time.”

“Could you?” You asked, knowing you were still far from knowing the full extent of his magical abilities.

The corner of his mouth twitched upward, his eyes bright - even in the dim, grey light - filled with mischief and something else you couldn’t name. He lifted your intertwined hands so that they hovered in between you.

“If you’re asking if you can let go now, the unfortunate answer is yes.”

You hadn’t realized you’d still been holding his hand, so you let go and shrugged, trying to cover up your surprise, “Good to know you’re not going to be a complete nuisance.”

A wolfish grin spread across his lips as if he knew that one of the reason’s you’d forgotten you’d been holding his hand was because it wasn’t exactly an unpleasant feeling.You glared at him a little before starting off again.

The rest of the winding way was silent, but not as uncomfortable as it had been since he’d arrived. Loki was a good ally to have in a fight, and although you knew you weren’t supposed to be walking into one, it was nice to know you had someone at your back.

When you heard the voices of the Nova Corps officers, you paused.

“Don’t say anything unless they talk to you directly,” You warned.

He raised a brow, “Afraid I’ll say something unseemly?”

“I’d rather not take any chances.”

He smirked.

The two of you walked in, side by side, and it wasn’t long before Corpsman Dey noticed you.

“Ah, YN. We were beginning to wonder if you were ever going to make it back,” He smiled, crossing the large, busy room, “And I see you’ve brought a friend.”

“Dey, this is-”

He raised a hand, cutting you off, “Oh I know who that is. He doesn’t need much introduction.”

Loki’s lips pulled into a sly, toothy grin, but he didn’t say anything.

“He’s only here to help transport the Wand for me,” You reassured him, “Nothing else.”

Dey smirked, “And here I thought the entirety of Asgard wanted you dead.”

“They do, but only on Tuesdays,” You forced a laugh, trying to keep your focus away from the past.

“Good thing it’s not Tuesday then,” He peered around you, searching, “Do you have it?”

You nodded and nudged Loki.

He summoned the Wand from whatever magical pocket he kept it in and offered it to Dey with a dangerous smile that made it look like Loki would bite Dey’s hand off if he got too close.

“It’s the real thing,” You tried break the tension Loki was so uselessly creating, “Of course, I understand that you might want to inspect it first, but even I can feel the power radiating off that thing.”

Dey took it from Loki, “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be back.”

You watched him walk off to the far end of the room where three other women were waiting. This was always the worst part of making deals with the Nova Corps. They’d never gone back on their word over the past year, but there was always the chance they didn’t like what they saw, and you’d end up in prison.

“You know,” Loki whispered into your ear, “They would take the Warlock’s Eye as well.”

Your breath caught in your throat, “I know.”

“Then why didn’t you ask me to bring it?”

You knew the real reason why, but you refused to tell him, “I can get more out of it elsewhere.”

He huffed a laugh, “I’m sure that’s true.”

“Seems your skills have paid off once again,” Dey said on his way back, “Which means our deal is still intact.”

“Glad to hear it,” You followed as he led the two of you back toward the way you came in.

“You keep interesting company, YN” Dey stopped not far from the exit, extending his hand, “As long as you keep these matters discrete, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

You shook his hand, “I’ll take our dealings to the grave.”

He nodded and released your hand, watching as you left the building. Loki didn’t say anything until you were back out in the bright sunshine and the bustle of Xandar.

“What’s the deal?” He asked, motioning to the small envelope Dey had slipped into your hand.

You pocketed it, “In exchange for artifacts that have fallen into the wrong hands, they give me a small sum of money and make arrangements with other planets, wiping my criminal record from their databases. For a job like this, my record’s been wiped clear of five more.”

“And the cash?” He asked.

“Units,” You replied, understanding his question, “I spend more time out here than I do on earth to have any use of human money.”

He stayed silent for a moment the asked, so softly you barely heard him over the sounds from the busy street, “Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?” You asked, paying more attention to finding a clear path off the street than anything else.

“Earth.”

Surprised, you stopped and looked up at him, almost getting run over by a business man in a hurry. It was the first time he’d ever used your own name for your planet and not his. Odd didn’t even begin to cover how you felt right now, but you weren’t about to make a big deal of something you were sure was nothing.

Shrugging, you pulled him along, making sure the two of you didn’t get separated by the busy crowd, “I don’t have much to miss, I guess. I never seem to fit in there, and even if I don’t here either, at least I have a purpose and something I’m good at, you know?”

“I can imagine,” He murmured, following you with long, easy strides, “You never did seem out of place out here.”

A smile touched your lips, “I guess we all figure out what we’re good at eventually.”

“It seems it may take longer for some of us…” The rest of his words drifted off into the crowd, apparently more for himself than for you.

“Excuse me,” A cheery voice beside Loki interrupted, “Would you like to buy a flower for your beautiful partner?”

He glanced down at the vendor in surprise, but a smile quickly replaced the look.

“We’re not-” You blurted out.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Loki grinned, cutting you off, “I’ll take two please.”

Loki transferred the money and took the flowers, extending them to you, “So you can have something of mine in your other hand as well.”

Once again, you realized you were holding his hand, which must have been the reason the vendor had mistaken you for a couple. You almost let go and threw the flowers to the ground in an attempt to keep fighting whatever seemed to keep drawing you two together, but you didn’t. Deep down, you wanted to stop fighting because you really did want things to go back to the way they had been; you always had. Staring at the brightly coloured flowers, you decided that maybe it was time you let go of some of that anger. And when you took the flowers from his hand and pulled him along, you almost swore you heard him sigh as if he’d been holding his breath, waiting for your decision.


	10. A Past Mistake and a Future Consequence

A Year Ago

_You stared blankly out the front of your ship, hovering outside the portal that would lead you back to Asgard. All you had to do was give it a little gas and you’d be there. Did you dare go back?_

_The note trembled in your hand, your nerves getting to you. It had nothing to do with the danger of going back to a realm headed by Odin and everything to do with the Prince you’d left behind. You’d been so sure that there’d been something between the two of you. But there was no doubt in your mind that you’d been wrong. If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have been here right now._

_With a sigh, you leaned back in your chair and closed your eyes. Was it worth it to even entertain the idea that maybe, just maybe, you were right? You shook your head. You knew the answer. You’d been hiding out here for a week waiting for the Asgardian force to stop their search for you._

_Knowing Loki, if he’d wanted to find you, he would have. The Prince had obviously moved on, sending you off for a reason that had nothing to do with feelings and everything to do with motive. You’d just been too stupid to realize it._

_“To hell with it,” You muttered, “If he cared, he would have been here.”_

_You crumpled up the note but couldn’t find it in you to tear it apart or throw it away. Stuffing it in your pocket instead, you scanned the vicinity, deemed it safe and then took off. You didn’t know where you were heading, but anywhere was better than here._

_A year and fifteen minutes ago_

_Loki had no idea how she’d managed to make it to this jump point without a single Asgardian noticing her, but he shouldn’t have been surprised. She was far too intelligent to get caught by a mindless guard. That knowledge had been the only reason he’d been somewhat okay with sending her off the way he had. That had been before she’d turned up here._

_This place was far too dangerous and she should have known that. So what was she doing here?_

_A small part of Loki hoped that she was there for him, but the thought filled him with such anxiety that he banished it from his mind, knowing that what had happened was for the best. It would be less painful for the both of them this way._

_His ship hovered far enough out that her radars wouldn’t detect him, but close enough that he could still see her ship. It was a wonder the thing was still running at all. He had replaced more than just the part she needed to get the ship off Asgard but the fact remained that the ship looked like it would fall apart at a moment’s notice. He didn’t trust the thing, but if she did, it was good enough for him. Whether he liked it or not._

_It remained there as if she was planning on going somewhere but couldn’t decide where exactly. He knew the feeling. He’d been feeling that way from the moment she left, and it had only been a week. After the second morning of passing by her door and remembering that she wasn’t there anymore, he’d gone a different way. Even then, he still felt like he was wandering aimlessly, always searching in vain. Loki told himself that the only reason he’d tried to find her in the first place was to make sure that she had made it out all right, but now, hovering not far in his own ship, he was beginning to wonder if he had been deceiving himself._

_Before he could think things through like he normally did, he projected an image of himself and his consciousness into her ship. The magic took effect within seconds, but it was like he was a lifetime away. Immediately taken back to those last moments on the ship, it was a wonder Loki had enough self-control to remain hidden in the back of the ship. Hidden, and feeling a little creepy himself, he couldn’t help but notice her ship had no kind of alarm system regarding magical intrusions. He wished he’d had the time to install one before even if he knew that, above all, her wit was the reason she was still alive._

_And yet, she had no idea he was aboard. Frankly, if he hadn’t heard her incoherent mumbling, she was so still he would have thought she was asleep._

_Loki approached slowly, only going far enough to hear what she was saying._

_“What the hell are you doing, YN?” She asked herself, “What do you think you were doing, falling for him like that?”_

_Loki couldn’t help the immediate wave of envy crashing through his body and struggled to hold onto his illusion. She was the only person who could break his concentration like that and thinking about her missing Asger - the way she clearly was - a small part of him wanted to hate her for being his weakness. But he couldn’t hate her. Not even a little bit. Especially not when she continued her muttering._

_“How stupid could you be, falling for the Prince of Mischief? You knew what he was like and you let yourself get fooled by him like everyone else.”_

_He should have been relieved, elated even, but all Loki felt was a coldness seeping in that he knew all too well as fear. He should have corrected her, told her the truth and explained everything. She would have understood. If she cared for him half as much as he did for her, what he’d done would be eclipsed by the reason for his actions._

_But he didn’t._

_He couldn’t even make himself open his mouth. Because that was the problem. She somehow started caring for him - the real him he didn’t show anyone - and he had no idea how she’d done it but the idea that her feelings were real, terrified him to the bone._

_To his relief, his decision was made easier by the fact that something had pinged on the radar back on his own ship. He stared at her one last time, telling himself that this was all for the best, and the vanished._

_When he was back in his own body, he realized than an Asgardian ship had found her and was now approaching from the side with orders to kill on sight._

_“I don’t think so,” Loki promised the little blip on his screen before banishing all his emotions in favour of the cold, cruel mask he wore too well and teleporting to the ship._

_A Year Later_

_Even though Loki had warned Thor about the pain attached to falling for a mortal, his own pounding heart was a sign that he was unable to follow his own advice. He should accept the pain and let her die now, but he couldn’t._

_Loki was aboard the ship before anyone had a chance to stop him. He had no clue how his source had gotten the intel, but he would be paying the man handsomely. His fingers were practically shaking as he flipped the switches, praying he would get there in time. He would never forgive himself if he didn’t._

_Gunning it, Loki tore out of Asgard, calculating the fastest way to get to Praxius IX. His body could handle the excruciating number of jumps it would take to get there. He would survive. But YN wouldn’t if he wasn’t there. Somehow, the Praxians knew she was coming, and they didn’t take prisoners._


	11. A Truthful Devil and a Lying Demon

“The only reason I’m trusting you with this is because you said it’s imperative to finding the Faberge,” You said begrudgingly, sitting on your hands so that you wouldn’t shove him aside, “Don’t think this is the new normal.”

“I wouldn’t dare. People trusting me has never been normal,” He murmured, steering your ship with ease as if you’d been sitting shotgun to Loki all her life.

His words sent a pang of guilt through you. You had trusted him, once upon a time, and the funny thing was that trusting him felt as normal as driving you own ship. You sighed. He didn’t deserve your harsh critique now, no matter what had happened between you two. You were on edge because he had refused to tell you where you were going, and you were taking your nerves out on him.

Wanting to keep your promise to yourself and let go of your anger, you knew you had to apologize - no matter how much it hurt your pride to do so.

“I’m sorry,” You mumbled, fiddling with the hem of your sweater.

“I’m not asking for trust,” He murmured, “Just a little faith.”

“Isn’t that the same?” You countered, unable to help yourself.

Despite your tone, the corner of his mouth pulled up a little, “If it is, then a little patience. We’re almost there.”

You nodded thoughtfully, “That I can manage.”

He raised a brow as if to say he’d never been witness to your patience. You almost smacked him on the arm then realized he might have a point.

“It’s hard to be patient with that look on your face,” You growled.

His lips spread further into an infuriating grin, “I never said a word.”

“Just keep driving.”

He steered the ship away from one of the main routes you’d taken almost a hundred times and off toward an astroid field. The whole way through, your body was tense, and you weren’t sure you were breathing, but the shop never came close to any of the giant rocks that would surely tear your ship apart. The more you watched on, the more it looked like they parted for him. If it had been anyone other than Loki, you would have dismissed the notion immediately.

The astroids cleared to reveal a tiny planet, about the size of the Earth’s moon. Using the ship’s inter-galaxy information system, you tried to look up the planet, but nothing came up - not even a name.

“What is this place?” You asked as he steered the ship into the planet’s orbit.

He led the ship to the brighter side of the planet, where the sun hadn’t set yet, luscious trees set aglow in the fading light as if they were emeralds. The ground was so dark it almost appeared black, with streaks of gold flashing across it which you quickly realized were massive birds swooping over the plains.

“Loki,” You repeated, a little breathless at the oddly familiar sight, “What is this planet?”

He kept his eyes out front, focusing on landing the ship, “It’s mine.”

“What do you mean, it’s yours?”

But even as you asked the question, you knew exactly what he meant. The landscape was so familiar because it felt entirely like he did. Some people bought a house. It seemed that the Prince of Asgard bought a planet.

“It belongs to me,” He paused, and you thought he wasn’t going to say more, but then continued with a deep breath, “I found it when I was looking for - when I was looking for something else. I decided to make it mine.”

You shot him a curious look, “Who knows you have it?”

He finally looked at you, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “No one. So, if you would be so kind as to not tell a soul what you’ve seen here, that would be greatly appreciated.”

Nodding, you remained speechless.

He brought the ship down not far from what you presumed to be - for lack of a better word - his house. Unlike the ostentatious gold palaces of Asgard, his home reminded you of a cross between something like a large barn and a gothic church. The look was unlike anything you had ever seen before, but somehow it came across as elegant and completely fitting.

Setting the ship down with care and precision, he sucked in a deliberately slow breath. You said nothing, caught between not being sure what to say and wanting to hear what he would said without your provocation.

Eventually, he spoke up, “If you’d like, we could take a moment’s rest and have something to eat here as well.”

His mouth was pinched tight as if he’d bitten something sour, and his posture was rigid. If you didn’t know any better, you might have said he was nervous. Oddly enough, the feeling put you more at ease and you wanted to do the same for him.

“What,” You asked with a smile, “You don’t like the food I keep on the ship?”

He leaned back in the chair, “Is that what it’s called? Because I’ve had food before, and I can’t quite say I see any resemblance.”

“I think that’s just because you’re a food snob,” You said, rolling your eyes.

He chuckled and you smiled back.

“All right Loki, I guess you’ll have to show me what real food is.”

“I supposed I will,” He murmured.

You followed him out of the ship, the cool air crisp and refreshing as if you were standing at the top of a mountain. A long sigh escaped your lips as if you’d been holding in for longer than you’d ever realized, the smell of pine and lemon soothing your earlier temper. Loki didn’t look back at you, but you noticed his shoulders set lower as well.

The doors opened at your approach and Loki put a hand on the small of your back, guiding you into the beautiful home. The dark woods and sparse furniture gave the open space a sleek look though it was hard to imagine anyone living here.

“And I was thinking,” He continued, looking almost sheepish, “That we could eat our meal on the roof. The view from this planet is quite spectacular.”

You smiled up at him, “That sounds nice.”

He let out a small sigh and motioned for you to follow him.

“How long ago did you say you found this place?” You asked, fingers brushing along the soft wood.

He motioned for you to come through another door, “It feels like forever ago.”

It didn’t slip your notice that it wasn’t a real answer to your question, but you didn’t think you had it in you to ask again. Letting go of your anger meant accepting that there were things Loki wouldn’t want to tell you. The two of you were slowly becoming friends again and that was all you wanted.

“Where are we headed?” You asked, head on a swivel as you tried to take in all your surroundings.

You almost missed the amused look he shot you being so busy observing a globe hanging in the corner of the room that you were pretty sure depicted Earth’s activities in real time.

“What?” You demanded, the look on his face never failing to rile you up.

He shrugged, pausing in front of a modest, wooden door, “It’s been a while since you’ve asked me so many questions without that look in your eyes.”

“What look?”

The amusement faded from his eyes and he whispered, “The one that makes me think you’d like to kill me.”

Annoyed, you tried to shove past him, open the door to whatever lay on the other side, but he blocked your passage. With a sigh, you looked up at him expectantly.

He raised a brow as if he was waiting for an answer, and in a way, you supposed he was.

You rolled your eyes, “Is this your way of asking if I still want to kill you?”

He nodded.

But really, there were a million other questions running through both of your minds, neither of you brave enough to voice any of them aloud. Your breathing shallowed at the look on his face, the intensity of those eyes threatening to root you to the spot forever.

Refusing to make a big deal of anything that might have rightfully deserved it, you opened the door and breezed past him into a kitchen.

You were just as impressed by the kitchen as you were the rest of the place, but you couldn’t forget that you hadn’t answered his question.

Turning to face him, you leaned your elbows back against the counter, “I don’t want to kill you, but knowing you, that could easily change in the future.”

His face clouded over, and it was as if all the air was sucked from the room. He took several quick steps, moving with the speed and grace of a skilled predator. He stopped just far enough away that he could say your bodies weren’t touching, the distance so close that you had no choice but to tip your head back if you wanted to see anything other than his chest. You could feel the air drop a few degrees, icy air rolling off him in waves.

“Loki-”

“Is it because you’re afraid?” The anger in his whisper was barely controlled, the war to keep the composure on his face evident in the reel of emotions playing in his eyes.

It took you a second to realize what he was talking about, and when you understood, you stood up and got in his face before realizing what you were doing, anger clouding your judgement.

“When have I ever been afraid of you?” You jabbed him in the chest knowing it was the only thing you could do to stop yourself from smacking him upside the head, “When are you going to get it through your thick skull that I’m not like everyone else? You don’t scare me, Loki. I’m pissed at you because you left me to die!”

Your shrill voice bounced off the walls, the last word echoing on and on in the second of silence that seemed to last an eternity. He opened his mouth to speak but you didn’t let him. You’d broken the dam with that word and there was no holding back the flood now.

“You left me to die, Loki,” Your voice cracked but you pushed on, “Whatever scheme you had planned was worth leaving me to die. All while pretending you had-” You cut yourself short before you could give voice to feelings you knew he’d never had in the first place, “You pretended we were friends and that you were honouring our agreement when really you were just serving your selfish needs. My escape was nothing more than a diversion and you couldn’t have care less if I died.”

He clenched his teeth, jaw working as he sucked in a breath, “You’re right, Midgardian, I was selfish. But I do no regret actions and I never will, even if you leave right now and never say another word to me again.”

“I don’t-”

“Let me finish,” He growled, backing you up into the counter, “Would you like to know why I did what I did? What scheme I had concocted that was worth putting your life at risk?”

“Why should I let you finish?” You spat back, “I know damn well all you’ve ever wanted was the crown.”

“That was true until I met…” He stumbled on his words, eyes widening as if he was afraid of what was going to come out of his mouth.

“Don’t lie to me. You’ve always wanted the crown,” You whispered angrily.

He raised a brow, some of his composure returning, “Maybe so, but do you really believe that was the best way for me to go about it? Think about it, Midgardian. What do you think I was doing when you found me bloody and injured in the hallway that day? Did you think I had risked my life for a simplistic plan that was so easily foiled?”

Whatever you were about to say next died in your mouth and you stared up at him, his words tugging on something in your mind. You almost wanted to believe him. His words rang true in some way, but he had always been good with words. You’d seen it time and time again at the parties the two of you had gone to together. Believing him the first time had been a mistake. Believing him a second time would only be stupid.

“Find your own way to Asgard,” You muttered.

Shaking your head, you pushed past him, tears burning behind your eyes. Loki didn’t move to stop you. You tried not to run out of there, taking measured steps until you burst out of the house into the cool night air. Choking on a sob, you managed to hold it together, but every step was shaky over the smooth ground. The faint sound of alarm caught your attention, but the sound disappeared before you could think anything of it.

You marched on, your energy draining with every step closer to your ship and the thought of never seeing Loki again. Vaguely you couldn’t help but notice the rainbow of shooting stars streaking across the sky and that the view really would have been nice from his roof. You shoved the thought aside and stumbled onto your ship. What you really wanted to do was collapse onto your bed and sleep until you could forget everything, but you knew you had to get off this planet. If you stayed here any longer, you might be tempted to believe Loki and you couldn’t let that happen.

Every one of your movements was a blur, your body acting on autopilot until you were lifted off the ground and out of the astroid field.

Then Loki burst onto your ship out of thin air, eyes wild, frantically searching the ship. When his eyes locked onto yours, he crossed the distance before you realized what was happening. His hands gripped either sides of your arms and held on tight as if he was afraid something bad would happen if he let go.

“YN you need to listen to me.”

You tried to shake him off, but he held on, “I don’t want to hear your excuse.”

“This is not an excuse, there are-”

“Loki I don’t care,” You snapped, trying to return to navigating your ship.

“That’s not why I’m here,” He growled, “You’re in danger.”

You scoffed, “Is this really your way of avoiding the truth?”

He looked murderous and desperate all at once, “I can give you the truth later as you long as you listen to me now!”

You’d never seen him act this way, but you were still to hurt to think rationally - to listen to the part of your gut that was telling you something was wrong. Whatever it was that he wanted, you weren’t going to give it to him. Not this time.

Jutting your chin up, you crossed your arms, “I’m not letting you pull me along this time. Tell me the truth now and then I’ll think about listening to you.”

“Fine,” He ground out, eyes fiery, “I did what I did because Odin-”

You never got to hear what Odin had done because a shot blasted into the side of your ship and everything went black.


	12. A Shattered Promise and an Unbreakable Bond

Swearing was the first thing you were conscious of. It was in a language you didn’t know, and you could barely hear it over the ringing in your ears, but you knew it was swearing. Loki was swearing - that was something you’d never heard before and you knew that whatever was happening wasn’t good.

The world around you blinked into focus as you cracked your eyes open, one of them sticky with, what you realized with tender finger to the temple, was blood. You turned slowly, trying to remember where you were and what had happened. Somehow, you were buckled into the passenger seat of your ship. A massive boom hit the ship, the impact shook you around, your weak body tossed around in the seat. Loki’s frantic voice edged its way out of the fog of your memory and into the present as you began to piece together what had happened. You couldn’t have been out for long, but the pounding in your head was too fresh for you to do much more than tilt your head.

“Loki,” You croaked, your voice hoarse as if you hadn’t spoken in days.

His attention snapped to you so fast you wondered if you had shouted his name instead of whispered it. Relief filled his face when his quick scan of your body revealed nothing new but was quickly banished by cold efficiency that bordered on murderous.

“Where is your ship’s shield?” He demanded, eyes darting across the console.

It took you longer than usual to process the question, your mind still in a daze, “I don’t have one.”

He stilled, whatever realization he’d come to worse than you had first thought. Focusing on your breathing, you waited until you felt close enough to normal that you could ignore the pain from the blast and direct that adrenaline into a plan of action.

With the seeds of a plan taking root, you were about to unbuckle yourself when his hand shot out, pinning you to the seat with a hand on your chest.

“Don’t,” He warned, eyes dangerous.

The look didn’t deter you, especially not as he swerved to avoid another hit, “I’m not sitting this out. Don’t think I haven’t recognized the Praxians out there. They’re here for me.”

“You almost died,” He stated as if that was the end of the discussion.

Like hell it was.

“It happens,” You growled, throwing his hand back at him and unbuckling your seatbelt, “One of the many perks of being human. Now, unless you want to guarantee my death, move.”

If he was surprised by the fact that you’d caught on and were ready for battle so quickly, he didn’t show it in anything more than a piercing look and a clenched jaw. If anything, he looked downright furious, but not enough so that his pride made him stay in his seat. He evaded an incoming shot before relinquishing control.

Buckling yourself into the seat, you assessed the damage. Your heart dropped. You were only going to be able to remain space-bound for another twenty minutes or so.

“How many?” You demanded, scanning the radar.

“Only three.”

You searched for the relief in his voice, but it wasn’t there. The Praxians weren’t known for their bedside manner - they shot to kill. Still, the odds could have been worse. They were good enough for your plan to possibly work.

“I’ll keep the ships distracted,” You began, feeling his eyes on you as he waited to hear what you had in mind, "Can you teleport into the enemy ships and take them out from the inside?”

He nodded, changing into battle gear before your eyes. Another blast skimmed the back of your ship and you swore, straining to keep it steady. Loki marked the Praxian ships on the radar with his finger, outlining his own strategy so that you wouldn’t shoot him out into space.

Caught up in the plan, you barely managed to avoid a shot that would have torn the ship in two. Loki still didn’t move.

“Go,” You ordered when he shot you a long look.

He pursed his lips, dipped his head and then vanished.

The strange look he’d had on his face was imprinted in your mind, but you had to push it aside and concentrate. You’d be no use to him if you were dead. You aimed the ship back toward the astroid field, using the massive rocks as cover. It would make hitting the other ships harder, but that wasn’t your job - you needed to keep their attention off Loki for as long as possible.

The next fifteen minutes were the longest of your life. Every shot, you took afraid you’d hit Loki by mistake. Once he had taken down an enemy ship, he returned to yours, murderous, but always looking for you and scanning to make sure you were all right before returning out to the ships. You shot at the Praxians relentlessly, but you never knew if your diversions were working or if they even helped. Your muscles strained and your hands were cramped but you continued without fail, not about to leave him helpless.

An eternity later, the last ship went down, but nothing even close to relief went through your body. Jamming the ship into idle, you stood up and paced back and forth, wondering where the hell he was. He had to be alive. He had to. You checked your radar, checked every sensor on your ship and still nothing showed any evidence that Loki was still alive.

Your ship’s alert system blared through the ship, warning you that you only had a few more minutes until it was no longer functional. You stilled, unable to follow the warning; not when it would take you less than a minute to get to his planet. You weren’t leaving without him unless it was the only way you’d make it out alive.

A strange zap sounded through the air and you knew immediately what had happened. Whipping around, you found Loki collapsed on the floor, struggling to get back up. There was so much blood everywhere, it was all you could see.

You ran over, helping him back up, “Loki!” You fingers fluttered to his face, trying to find the source of the pain, “What happened?”

“Are you hurt?” He demanded, the ferocity in his eyes not dimmed by the amount of blood covering his shirt.

You desperately hoped it wasn’t his, but judging by the grimace on his face, your hopes were in vain. All you could manage was a quick shake of your head. The relief on his face told you that was all the answer he needed.

You lifted his shirt, only to see a gaping hole in his abdomen. You sucked in a breath, your heart stopping at the sight.

“I’ll heal,” He replied gruffly.

With a pointed look in his direction, you whispered, “You’d better.”

He forced a smile, but it lacked some of his usual insouciance.

The alarm picked up again, reminding you that you had less than two minutes to go before you’d be stranded. As much as you wanted to stay by his side, you knew you had to go. You weren’t out of the woods yet, but you hadn’t gone through all this to die now.

“Don’t move,” You ordered, knowing he was liable to try and steer the ship himself.

You were steps away from your seat when Loki shouted your name, the sheer panic in his voice rooting you to the spot. Somehow, he was at your side, shoving you out of the way seconds before an enemy dagger came down on you. Only it hit Loki instead, piercing him in the chest. You screamed.

The Praxian lifted his head, eyes locked on his target - you. Loki crumpled to the ground, the second injury too much for even his body and the man stepped over him. His dagger dripped with blood as he advanced, guarded, but ready to attack.

You weren’t afraid. The mix of anger, grief and adrenaline had made everything perfectly clear and you knew this man would die the moment you reached your gun. The sight of Loki’s pale body on the floor of your ship and the blaring alarm meant there was no room for error. He’d stabbed Loki. He had to pay for that. 

Your body moved as if someone else was pulling the strings, your mind shifting into a state of cold detachment until you’d taken the two steps to your gun, aimed and pulled the trigger. The man collapsed, taking the last of the threats with him.

Or so you thought.

Loki groaned, the sound hollow and unlike anything you’d ever heard come out of his mouth. You were at his side, knees hitting the ground with a pain you didn’t feel, cupping his face in your hands. You searched for any sign that the man in your arms was an illusion, but you’d gotten too good at your little game to think he wasn’t real. This time, nothing about his injuries were fake, especially not the gash in his abdomen and the knife still sticking out of his chest. His eyes began to glaze over. It was a miracle he was still alive, but it wasn’t looking like he would be for much longer.

You needed to stop the bleeding. You needed to do something. He needed to live. You couldn’t let him die.

“YN,”

“Loki,” A tear drop fell on his chest and you realized you were crying, “I need to fix you up, okay?”

A watery smirk pulled weakly at the corners of his mouth. You couldn’t stand the sight. He had accepted his fate. He knew he was dying.

“I figured it out,” He wheezed, gripping onto your hand as if it was a lifeline.

You shook your head, choking on a sob, “Don’t. Tell me after.”

There was so much you wanted to say to him, and so much you’d said that you wished you hadn’t, but those green eyes were dimming and he wouldn’t let go; he wasn’t letting you save him. You wanted to fight him, beg him to hold on a little longer, but you couldn’t seem to move.

With his free hand, he brushed away one of your tears with his thumb, forcing his sly smirk back into place. If it hadn’t been half as alight as it usually was, you might have been able to stop the tears from flowing even harder.

“I figured out what I’m good at,” He rasped, his breathing shallow and laboured.

“Tell me later?” You begged, “Please.”

He pulled you close for a soft, fleeting kiss, his lips cold on yours.

“I’m good at keeping you alive,” He murmured, the hint of a small, satisfied smile on his mouth.

Then his eyes fluttered shut, his head falling back to the floor with a thump.

“Loki,” You croaked, feeling his hand go limp in yours.

He didn’t answer.

You checked for a pulse.


	13. A Broken Ship and a Healed Heart

Nothing. The sound of your own heart pounded in your ears, but there was nothing under your fingertips to match the sound. Your fingers trembled. You tried to breath but the only thing you could inhale were choked sobs that left you gasping for air. You needed to steady your hand. You convinced yourself maybe that was the reason you hadn’t felt anything and pressed into his throat a little harder. Your tears dripped onto his chest in a steady rhythm and you felt like you were going to collapse even though you were kneeling by Loki’s side. His face was ashen, his entire torso covered in blood. He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t. You almost let go, but that was when you felt it. A pulse; faint but there.

A shaky exhale escaped your lips. He wasn’t dead yet, but he was dying.

Your hands hovered over his body as if you could magically heal him. He needed medical attention - far more than you knew how to give him - but you needed to get your ship to ground fast. If he was going to make it out alive, you needed to wipe your tears and do this with the same efficiency as one of your heists. Checking his pulse one last time, you stood abruptly, feeling a cold calm come over you. There was no place for emotion here, even if it was emotion motivating you in the first place.

A ripped bed sheet, a cork, and a few safety pins later, you’d managed to stop most of the bleeding and had bandaged him up. It was a terrible, half-baked version of a tourniquet, but it was all you had, and it would have to do. He groaned and you paused, your heart breaking at the sight but you couldn’t let it. He’d be okay; he had no choice to be.

“You’re not going to die,” You whispered, giving his hand one last squeeze, “I promise I won’t let that happen.”

Although you were pretty sure you were imaging things to keep yourself sane, you could have sworn you’d felt a faint squeeze back. Somewhat reassured, your adrenaline picked up again. Every move you made was quick and efficient, no second wasted on indecision or fear. Even the astroid field was a blur, the giant rocks seeming to move out of the way the same way they had for Loki.

The alarm quickened, the beeps coming in faster intervals, demanding you land immediately or prepare for an evacuation. Loki’s planet appeared behind the last of the astroids, but it was still too far to put your ship down. You needed another minute or else neither of you would survive the landing.

You brought the ship in faster than you’d ever risked for a landing but there was nothing you could do at this point. The only thing left was hope the impact didn’t kill you. Loki bounced around on the floor of your ship and you winced, but you couldn’t give him your attention for long. You strained against the gravity and the force of your ship as it went down, pulling against the controls in an attempt to slow your descent.

The impact resounded through your entire body, knocking the wind from your chest. Everything shook and rattled as your ship dug into the ground, skidding toward the house. It neared closer and closer, and you pulled back desperately trying to avoid the collision with the house. Time moved in slow motion, the distance between you and the ship closing until, by some miracle, the tip of your ship knocked a light off the side of the house but nothing more.

Collapsing back into your chair, you closed your eyes trying to catch your breath. Your moment of relief didn’t last long, and a small groan from Loki spurring you into action. The sound was enough to know he was still alive, and you inspected the rest of his body, trying to decide what to do. But you weren’t a doctor. You couldn’t be sure what to do.

You pulled back the bandage. The stab wound didn’t seem to have bled anymore, but the other wound he’d teleported onto your ship with still had something lodged in it. Before you could pull it out, you realized it was something like an arrowhead. Your heart dropped in your chest, dread flooding your system. You knew enough about injuries to know that the only way for it to come out was through, and judging by its placement, if you didn’t do it perfectly, you’d be the one to kill him. You began to tremble. Maybe Loki wasn’t going to make it through.

The tears came flooding in and you hiccuped, trying your best to keep them at bay but it wasn’t working. You stared at him hopelessly. All he had was you and there was nothing you could do for him. You weren’t enough.

You brushed the sticky hair from his face, wishing more than anything that he would disappear from under your touch and appear behind you, but there was no pretending that the life draining from the body in front of you was fake.

“Why’d you have to save my life?” You scolded, but really it sounded more like you were begging, “I don’t know how to do this, so you need to live okay? At least a little longer so I can figure it out, okay?”

But there was no answer. You wouldn’t get another one ever again unless you did something.

Then you remembered your time on Asgard last year and your breath caught. It was a long shot, a hail Mary if you’d ever seen one, but it was the only thing you could think of. You grabbed Loki’s hand, whispered for him to hang on a little longer, and sucked in a deep breath.

“Heimdall?” You cleared your throat, not sure how loud you needed to be for him to hear you, but knowing your choked-up mumbling couldn’t be enough, “I need help…Loki needs help. I don’t know if you’re hearing this or seeing this, but I need someone to tell me what to do. Loki’s dy-” You choked on the word, “He’s not going to make it. Please.”

Nothing happened. You knew it was stretch and it probably wouldn’t work, but you couldn’t give up. Not yet.

“I’ll give anything,” You begged, louder and stronger this time, a thought blooming in your mind, “I’ll return to Asgard, give Odin the chance to carry out his sentence. As long as Loki makes it out of this alive, I can give Odin the justice he’s looking for. I promise. Please, just help him.”

Sobbing, you paused and then it was as if you were standing at the end of the Bifrost beside Heimdall, staring out at the infinite worlds.

He kept his gaze far out, titling his head in your direction; the only indication he knew you were there, “Nonsense child. I won’t let you sacrifice your life for his, though it is commendable that you would do such a thing.”

Speechless, you only stared at him.

He continued, the corner of his lips pulled up in a slight quirk, “The moment Loki introduced you to me that day, I knew you would be in his life the entirety of yours, and as you can see, you are well and living. Here’s what you will do, and you must hurry.”

The Bifrost vanished and you were back in your ship. Heimdall’s explanations were clear and concise, especially the first telling you where Loki had stashed a first aid kit in your ship complete with an IV set. Throughout the entirety of your procedures, you weren’t sure you breathed at all. Every move you second guessed, looking up to a Heimdall you imagined no one else could have seen, to make sure you were doing the right thing.

The hardest part had been turning Loki on his side to push out the arrowhead. Only Heimdall’s steady hand on your shoulder kept the thoughts of Loki’s death at bay. Your hands were covered in blood and so was Loki’s bare chest but his breathing, though shallow, was steady. You weren’t sure when Heimdall had left only you knew he was gone now. You couldn’t ask him if he knew if Loki would survive or not, but you figured that might be a good thing. At least this way, you could delude yourself into thinking he would survive.

When the last stitch was tied, you finally let out a short exhale. You didn’t think you would breath normally again until he opened his eyes. At least you knew there was now a good chance he would. Gently, you cleaned him off until the only sign of his injuries were the white bandages across his chest.

You grabbed every pillow available to you and made sure he was as comfortable as possible and settled in for the night. You held onto his hand, refusing to move until he woke up, because he had to wake up. He had to. You wouldn’t consider any other outcome.

Exhausted, you drifted off into a deep sleep, your hand never letting go of his.

Loki felt like his chest and stomach were on fire, like his head was about to explode and that his tongue was a piece of sandpaper in his mouth. Even breathing hurt… but he was alive. He shouldn’t be alive. For maybe the first time in his life, Loki had acted without considering his safety first, but it wouldn’t mean a thing if she wasn’t alive. He cracked an eye open, searching for the reason he’s sacrificed himself.

She was on the ground beside him, head bent at an odd angle, brow creased even in sleep. Loki didn’t know how long he’d been out or how long she’d been beside him, but there were a couple plates and one with a half-eaten sandwich on it which meant it had to have been longer than a day.

He sighed, relived that she was fine. All the fear he’d felt concerning his feelings towards her felt trivial in the face of losing her. He’d pushed away his emotions, afraid she’d leave him if she really knew how he felt and yet here they both were, him half dead and her the reason he wasn’t completely. He’d almost died. For her. If he kept running from his feelings, he only would only be risking her life even further. That wasn’t an option. Maybe letting her in wouldn’t be as terrible as he thought.

Loki pushed past the pain, lifting up to his elbows. He wanted to move a pillow under her head, but his movements were so shaky and pained that her eyes fluttered open.

“Loki,” she breathed, frozen in place.

He shivered at the sound of his name on her lips. He didn’t know what to say.

He stared into her eyes, fighting the urge to touch her and figure out everything going through her mind. Unsure what to do, he tried to push himself up even higher.

Her hand shot out, hovering just away from his shoulder, and she blurted, “Don’t. It’s fine. Are you okay? I know you’re not but are you in pain?”

Shaking his head, he tried to push himself up to a seat but couldn’t.

“You’re lying to me,” She said sternly, a dangerous look on her face, “I have pain killers. I’ll go get them.”

She was about to get up and leave, but he tightened his grip, “Stay.”

He hadn’t forgotten they were holding hands, but by the way her eyes widened, she had. The look made him smile, giving him enough strength to say what he had to say.

“I have something I need to say.”

“It better be thank you,” She snapped, then immediately winced.

Normally that would have been enough reason for him to choose a sarcastic remark and run with it, but he was done putting on a show. He’d never had to with her and it was about time he admitted that he felt things to himself and to her, regardless of what she said about it afterwards.

“You’re right, thank you,” Loki gave her hand another squeeze, hoping she knew that he really meant it, “But I also owe you an explanation.”

“You shouldn-”

He cut her off, knowing if he didn’t say this now, he might never, “I have to. Please.”

She sucked in a breath, and nodded, though he could tell she was wary of what he was about to say, “Then please don’t lie to me.”

“I won’t. I’ll do my best to give you the explanation you deserve,” Loki then continued to explain the conversation he’d overheard a year ago and Odin’s plans to kill her. Talking about it a year later still made his blood boil, but his body was in no condition to support his rage. Uneasy from the blank look on her face he finished with, “If you hadn’t escaped, Odin would have killed you the next morning. You needed to be as far off Asgard as possible, with no reason to return.”

She shook her head, looking like she was about to be sick, and whispered, “I don’t believe you.”

“You asked me not to lie,” He whispered back, afraid he’d waited too long to tell her.

The lines on her face hardened, “Since when has that stopped you?”

“Since you started believing in me,” He snarled back, unable to keep the emotion from his voice or the words from tumbling out of his mouth, “Or at least since you used to. Since you stayed…Since you didn’t look at me like I was the cruel monster everyone else believes me to be. Odin was going to kill you and I couldn’t let that happen. Not to you…never to you.”

It was as if the next moment was suspended in time and they stared at each other, trying to find the truth hidden beneath all the lies. But for once, there were no lies. There were no half-truths or omissions, no tales spun for fear she wouldn’t like what she saw. He owed her the truth. Not only for saving his life, but simply because it was time she knew.

Loki couldn’t read the expression on her face; didn’t know if she was going to kick him off her ship and leave him on his own or if she might be willing to stay. Although he was afraid to say anything now, she had a room ready for her in his house. Yet, the longer he waited, the more he thought this was the end.

And then she kissed him.

His surprise quickly turned to relief and he pulled her closer, ignoring the pain in his body. Without realizing it though, he must have winced because she tried to pull away, but Loki kept his hand firm around the nape of her neck, refusing to let her slip away. He’d been waiting this long, he wasn’t going to ruin it because he’d almost died.

“I’m fine,” He growled before deepening the kiss.

He felt her smile against his lips and he almost sighed with relief. She tangled her fingers in his hair, tugging gently, and Loki shivered. He tried to pull her in closer, but even he couldn’t ignore the pain any longer. They broke away, both flushed and a little breathless.

“Why now? Why find me now?” She murmured, forehead resting against his.

He smiled, “Because, I needed to make sure the people you stole from didn’t kill you.”

“How kind.”

“What can I say,” He brushed his thumb along her jaw, “I am generous. I’m letting you stay on my planet.”

“I can leave if you’d like,” She offered.

He tugged her in so that his lips hovered so close, they brushed lightly against hers as he said, “I’d rather you stayed.”

And then he kissed her.


	14. Epilogue: A Little Wicked and a Lot of Kindness

One Year Later

“I thought you remembered where you put the damned thing,” You snapped, hungry, tried and ready to go home.

Despite how grumpy and nervous you were, you smiled. You could still remember the first time you’d called Loki’s planet home. The two of you had been working out another deal with the Nova Corps and you’d been just as agitated then as you were now. You hadn’t realized what you’d said until Loki’s head had whipped around so fast you were sure his head would spin off. He’d stared at you with wide eyes, his surprise blatant on his face, and you’d stared back, trying to figure out what you’d said to catch his attention like that. When you’d realized it, you had been about to try and make up some excuse, but his face had broken into one of the most relaxed grins you’d ever seen on Loki and the only thing you could do was smile back as he had echoed, “Home.”

That smile was the complete opposite of the look you saw on Loki’s face right now. His brows were knit together, eyes constantly darting from you to your surroundings as if there was a threat you weren’t aware of. Whatever was worrying him wasn’t small. You knew the feeling.

Although you were in your element - attempting to steal that Faberge egg Loki had told you about ages ago - you dreaded the idea of finding the egg. Or rather, you dreaded finding what he’d stashed in it. You were afraid that whatever he’d find in it would take him from you. Whatever was in there was stashed to help him secure the crown and although he told you he could live without being king of Asgard, you knew there would always be a part of him that longed to wear the crown; to prove that he was as much of an Asgardian as anyone else there.

Your only reassurance was that he couldn’t seem to remember where he’d put it. However, knowing Loki, it wouldn’t take long for him to find it, which was probably the reason you kept snapping at him despite yourself.

“I thought you said it was here.”

He shrugged, somehow making the gesture over dramatic, “It seems I’ve gotten it wrong. It does happen from time to time.”

You said a brow, “That’s not what you’ve told me.”

He glared at you a little but took your hand in his and pulled you along. Thankfully he’d chosen to hide the egg in abandoned ruins which meant there was no one here trying to stop you. What should have been an easy mission taking no longer than ten minutes to get in and out, had taken thirty so far.

Loki was getting more and more agitated by the second. He ran his free hand through his hair for the hundredth time and making it more of a mess than it already was. You wanted to ask him what was bothering him, but you couldn’t make yourself do it. You were too afraid of the answer.

“This is it,” He sighed, relief clear on his face as he led you into a plain looking room.

You stared at him curiously. Although he’d been slightly more open with you in the past year, he was never one to wear his emotions so openly. Something was clearly bothering him. You just had to hope that it was nothing that would mean the end for the two of you.

Letting go of your hand, he walked over to the far corner of the room. He searched the wall, long fingers sliding over the rough stone until he found what he was looking for. A small click revealed a loose stone in the wall that he pulled back. Within the hall was a small box that was far plainer than you expected. He lifted the lid and then there it was, so incredibly beautiful you momentarily forgot your worries.

You stared at it opened mouth until Loki asked, “Would you like to hold it?”

With a nod, you gently scooped it up in your palms, moving into the light to get a better view. It was brilliant and you grinned, the thought of the commotion this would create on Earth filling you with excitement. But your excitement quickly faded when you remembered the other reason why you had come for it.

“Loki, what else…” As you turned back around to face him, your words died in your mouth, “Loki…What’s going on?”

Instead of leaning against the wall like you had left him, Loki was down on one knee, hand extended toward you, with a simple diamond ring it it. If anything, he looked even more worried than he had before.

He cleared his throat, “Midgardian. I believe, if I’m doing this correctly, that I have a question for you.”

You could only nod, not sure you believed what was happening.

“Will you be my wife?”

You dropped down to your knees so that you were level with him and cupped his face in your hands, “Absolutely.”

He let out a little breath and then you kissed him, your body practically shaking from all the emotion. His lips were gentle on yours as if he wasn’t sure this was really happening. You pulled him a little closer, pressed your lips against his a little harder, reassuring him that you meant it.

When you pulled apart, you smiled, “Will you promise to be mine too?”

Despite having said yes already, your words seemed to have soothed him even further and he whispered, “I will be yours forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this series! I hope you enjoyed it, I'd love to know what you thought! <3


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